The Way it Should Be
by rubyriot
Summary: Rory returns home for Christmas while working the campaign. She's not the only one who's coming home either. Lit. and JJ
1. Not So Secret Santa

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls. Obviously.

Not so Secret Santa

Lorelai was waiting patiently (well, in the broadest sense of the word) at the airport for her only daughter to arrive. It had been half a year since they had seen each other and the anticipation was killing her. She had already been yelled at twice by airport security for standing too close to the gate. They were not amused when she pointed out that terrorists usually attempt to board planes that are taking off, not landing. So now she was banned to the waiting area chairs, watching the plane touch down outside, a time bomb waiting to explode with excitement as soon as her daughter came into view. Which was about to happen any second now.

Rory ran down the terminal, practically pushing everyone out of her way in the process, muttering apologies to those in her path. Luckily she had been blessed with her mother's height and they were able to spot each other easily. The path to each other magically cleared when the other passengers heard the shrieks of joy in front and behind them and quickly moved to either side, bewildered. About ten minutes later, after the hugging, crying, and laughter subsided a bit, the two women gathered the belongings of the younger and fled the angry glares of the airport workers.

The ride from Hartford to Stars Hollow was too short for the mother/daughter pair to share all the stories from the last few months with each other, though they did try, taking turns talking in one big ramble that only they could understand. It also helped that it was the end of December and the snow began to fall heavily right when they started driving, making traffic move extra slow. As they pulled up to their house and Lorelai stopped the car, she turned to her daughter and took a deep breath. Rory saw her mother's "serious face" and demanded she to know what was going on.

"Jess is coming in for Christmas" Lorelai said quickly. She had known for a few weeks now, but had never found the right time to tell her daughter.

"Oh. Okay" Rory replied, trying to sound surprised and failing miserably.

"You know? How do you know? Did Luke call you? I told him not to call you. He didn't think I'd ever tell you. I'll show him…" she began in a tirade.

"Mom!" Rory practically shouted to interrupt her mother, "Luke didn't tell me. Jess did."

"Jess told you? When did you talk to Jess? Why didn't you tell me you were talking to Jess?"

"I met up with him while I was in Philly. We had coffee… and dinner. We talked and before I left town, he told me he'd see me at Christmas. It was nothing" Rory answered in a hurry.

Okay, so that last part had been a lie. It hadn't been nothing, but the whole thing was too complicated and she wanted to see how things went when they saw each other again before opening that can of worms. Her mother seemed to know she was downplaying the situation, but she didn't press it for once, which made Rory feel very relieved. At least the cat had poked it's head out of the bag and that would have to do for now. Dinner with Luke and Jess that night, however, was going to be another story all together.


	2. A Lack of Perspective

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. They make me smile. Enjoy chapter two!

Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Sad.

Ch. 2- A Lack of Perspective

Rory knew she should have gone to Luke's to see Jess as soon as her stuff was put away, but for some reason, she couldn't. Instead, she walked to Lane's to gain some perspective. Lane was the only person she had told about her visit to see Jess in Philadelphia. In fact, she had called Lane while walking back to her hotel room after having coffee with him. She had needed an unbiased (well, less biased anyway) opinion on the situation.

"_So you had coffee, talked like old times, and that was it? Then he asked you to dinner? And you accepted?" Lane recapped after listening to her best friend's newest saga._

"_Yeah, pretty much. It was weird that it wasn't really weird. Now I'm just confused."_

"_You're not sure what you feel for him anymore, that makes total sense" Lane reassured her._

"_No, I _do_ know what I feel for him. I'm pretty sure I still love him, which is crazy because I though I was over that a long time ago. I mean, I moved on, a lot. And then I go to see him and it's like I'm seventeen again. What I'm not sure of, though, is what he feels for me. I was sure that he had a girlfriend or something when he completely ignored me when I told him I broke up with Logan. But then he asks me to dinner out of nowhere. He wouldn't do that if he had a girlfriend, right? I mean, I practically offered myself up to him and he acts like I'm his sister or something. It's just not normal" she ranted._

"_Well, maybe he's just being practical."_

Practical. This was certainly not practical. Lane needed to give her a better reason than 'he's being practical'. If he had gone home after dinner, that would have been one thing. She would have known then that he was over her. But no, he had to listen to her and stay in her hotel room. Why had she decided margaritas were a good idea? Granted he had sat in a chair the entire night and not made one single move to hit on her, but still. When did he become a gentleman? It was unnerving. Then, just when she was about to walk away and forget that she had ever attempted this, he had to give her a single kiss and tell her he'd see her at Christmas with that trademark half-smirk, half-grin he did so well. She needed an outside perspective before she could see him again and get transfixed on those eyes and that voice. Lane, however, was not home when she got there. She knew she should have called first. Of course, Lane had seen this coming a left her a note taped to the door. It read: "Rory, the twins have a doctor's appointment. Jess loves you. Just go with it. Lane". So much for un-biased opinions. Since when was everyone on the 'I love Jess' train anyway? It was apparently time to bite the bullet.

Rory walked into the Diner, but he wasn't there. She wasn't sure whether she was relieved or disappointed. Maybe he wasn't really going to come. Maybe she had dreamed the kiss. Maybe she had dreamed Philadelphia altogether. She sat down at the table by the window to wait for her mom and Luke. She didn't have to wait long. She heard her mother's voice drifting from the storage room where Luke was emerging. He saw her and his eyes lit up as he walked toward her.

"Rory! It's good to see you! How are you?" Luke greeted his soon-to-be step-daughter with a hug and a smile.

"I'm good Luke. It's good to be home. I've missed everything and everyone!" she replied.

"Did your mother tell you?" he whispered conspiratorially.

"She did, right when we pulled up to the house. But I already knew, so it didn't matter that she's a big procrastinating chicken."

"Good. I wanted to tell you earlier, but she threatened me. You know, your mother is one scary lady sometimes. Wait, how did you already know?" he asked, although he was sure he knew the answer.

"I heard it from the horse's mouth himself, actually. When is he getting in, by the way?" She tried to sound nonchalant, but by the look on Luke's face it hadn't worked.

"He's here now. You can go upstairs and say hi if you want."

"Oh, um, okay" she said awkwardly. Things were getting more bizarre by the minute. Now Luke was telling her to go see Jess, upstairs, alone… what did everyone else know that she didn't? She climbed the stairs, debating on whether she should knock or not. She was just starting to mentally tell herself a story, like her mom used to do when they were outside her grandmother's house, when the door opened and she was face-to-face with Jess.

"I… uh… Luke said you were up here and.. Um… and I…" she stuttered, shell-shocked.

"Came up to say hi?" he finished for her.

"Yeah. That's it. So… you're here."

"I told you I was going to be here. You don't have to act so surprised. Geez… so, are you coming in or what?"

There was that trademark smirk-grin. She wanted to grab him and kiss him and throw him on the bed… she mentally shook herself and merely smiled shyly and slinked past him, sitting on the couch to wait expectantly. Jess sighed slightly as he closed the door and turned to head for the couch himself. He wanted to just grab her and kiss her and tell her he had always loved her and always would, but that was really cheesy and he wasn't sure how she'd react to that anyway. He hadn't even meant to kiss her back in Philly either. He had wanted to, he always wanted to, but he had told himself to take things painfully slow to avoid any kind of impulsive maneuvers that had gotten him in trouble so many times before. Besides, throwing her off guard was very satisfying and downright fun.

"So how was your trip?" he started off innocently.

"It was good. How was yours?" she matched his casual tone perfectly.

"Fine. Lots of driving."

"Yeah. I guess you have a car that works now."

"It's got an engine and wheels and everything" he couldn't help but respond a little sarcastically. She was trying to get him to crack first, but he was on to her and determined to make it the other way around. They sat for a few moments in silence, neither wanting to be the one to break it.

"Jess…" she said finally, half question, half statement.

"What?" he asked slyly, proud at his victory.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm visiting my family for Christmas," he said in a patronizing voice. He paused before adding, "And I promised this really amazing girl that I would see her at Christmas and I am a man of my word." Damn, she got him again. Calling her amazing was not playing it cool. It was the exact opposite. Why did her eyes have to get so big and blue like a lost puppy?

"Oh. Well, those reasons sound pretty good to me" she noted, leaning slightly towards him, hoping he'd kiss her again.

He noticed her breath catch as she moved closer to him and it took every inch of willpower he had to not get sucked in. He stood up abruptly and saw the disappointed look in her eyes, but he wasn't going to start something she wasn't prepared to finish. Not again. He was definitely playing with fire here and was tired of getting burned.

"We'd better go downstairs or your mom and Luke will come up here looking for us and they'll undoubtedly blame me if we're late for dinner" he said with a chuckle to let her know that he wasn't just blowing her off for no reason. He didn't want to hurt her even more than he didn't want her to hurt him. He was relived when she smiled and headed for the door.

Of course, then she stopped right as she passed him and whispered, "I had almost forgotten about dinner. I was ready for dessert." She giggled to herself as she bounced down the stairs. If he was going to play dirty, so could she. Jess shook his head and followed her into the diner. Tonight was certainly going to be interesting, because he was not going to give up yet. One way or another he was going to win this little game they were playing.


	3. A Step Forward

A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! Sorry for the italics in the last chapter, it isn't like that in the actual document, don't know what happened there. It was supposed to only be the phone conversation with Lane that was in italics.

Disclaimer: I'll never own it, not even in my dreams.

Ch. 3- A Step Forward

Lorelai turned when she heard commotion on the staircase to see her daughter bursting through the curtain that separated the diner from Luke's old apartment. She felt slightly wary when she saw Jess appear behind Rory, staring like a hungry wolf after her. She suddenly felt extremely protective and rushed to slide her arm around her daughter's shoulder, gliding her away from the man who, on second glance, now looked more like a love-sick puppy.

"So… what were you doing upstairs, hun?" she asked with a lightly accusing tone.

"Oh, umm, Luke told me to get Jess and tell him it was time to go to dinner" she fibbed, noticing that Luke was not nearby to call her out on it. She also noticed the raised eyebrow and smirk combination Jess gave her and shot him a warning look, daring him to say something.

"Uh-huh," Lorelai retorted skeptically, "well, I suppose we should get going then."

"Okay, where's Luke?" Rory asked, looking around.

"Oh, umm, he's going to meet us there. He had something to do really quick first" Lorelai said quickly. It was her turn to sound a little suspicious, but she hurried both Rory and Jess outside to her car, ignoring the questioning looks they were giving her.

It seemed to Rory that her mom was driving in circles, but when she inquired as to where they were going, all she got were evasive ramblings that meant nothing. What did dryer sheets have to do with their dinner plans? If she wasn't so curious, she would have been laughing hysterically at the story her mom was coming up with. When her attempt with Lorelai failed, she tried to engage Jess in polite conversation, but in true Jess-fashion, he couldn't form a complete sentence in front of her mother. She finally gave up on that too after a few minutes and began to wonder to herself why they were driving towards their house, when they had originally gone the opposite direction. She was completely bewildered when her mom pulled into their driveway and turned off the car.

"Did you really just drive around for fifteen minutes only to bring me home? Did you forget something or is this our big dinner plan? And if we were just coming here to order take-out, why did I have to walk all the way to the diner in the freezing cold weather?" She rattled off a litany of questions, and it finally dawned on her that there was something waiting for her inside. One look at her mom confirmed this, because a smile was slowly spreading across her face. She grinned and ran into the house, leaving Lorelai and Jess alone in the front yard. They exchanged a mutual look of mistrust before following.

Rory followed the noises and amazing smells to the kitchen, where she found Sookie and Luke setting up an impressive looking spread on the table. There were burgers and fries that Luke had obviously brought from the diner and a cake with 'Welcome Home Rory' scrawled on it that was undoubtedly Sookie's handiwork. There were also taquitos and macaroni and cheese and mini corndogs thrown in the mix.

"You guys, this is too much!" she said, laughing.

" Rory! Welcome home! How's the campaign trail? I know you love it! We're so excited to see you, it's been too long" Sookie greeted her best friend's daughter.

"I do love it, but I miss you guys so much! I can't believe you planned all this and actually managed to pull it off. I can't believe you two are actually working together and not killing each other! You must have really missed me, too."

"We did, kid" replied Lorelai as she made her way into the kitchen.

"So the food's on the table and here's a plate" Luke stated, handing Rory a plate.

They all began loading their plates with food, Rory answering questions from all three adults about her travels and where she would be going next. She looked around for Jess and finally spotted him standing in the hallway, looking uncomfortable. She caught his eye and nodded towards the food table with a meaningful expression. He sighed and joined the others in the kitchen wondering how he had gotten himself roped into this. He had only reminded her of the dinner because Luke had mentioned it when he first arrived and he needed an excuse to separate himself Rory before he did something stupid. He had assumed he would be able to get out of it once they were downstairs because he figured Lorelai would have declared the dinner "family only" and told him he couldn't come. Then Rory had to go and say that Luke had invited him. Sure, he wanted to spend time with her, but not around other people. It had always been like that and he had hoped he would have gotten over it by now, but he still got jealous when they were around other people. When he was with her, he wanted her all to himself. It wasn't realistic and he felt like a stupid teenager again, but there it was. He tried to be sociable, but mostly, he just sat off to the side by himself trying to think of a way to get her alone without eliciting too much comment. Eventually, though, he gave up on that idea and bid farewell to the welcome party and headed back towards the apartment above the diner.

Rory excused herself just after Jess left and hurried to catch up to him. He was walking too fast for her liking after eating all that food, but she supposed it was just so he could get out of the cold sooner. She picked up her pace to exceed his, trying to sneak up on him. Jess stopped abruptly when he heard footsteps behind him and swiveled around only to see Rory practically running in his direction. She had enough momentum going that when he stopped, she didn't have enough reaction time to avoid colliding with him. Jess, however, did have a quick reflex and caught her gracefully. They froze for a moment, locked in an accidental embrace. The urge to kiss the girl in his arms made Jess step back first.

"What are you doing?" he asked, amusement clearly playing across his face.

"Sorry. I didn't expect you to stop. I was trying to surprise you, but apparently my covert ops skills have not been honed correctly after all these years. These stupid loud shoes don't help either" she began. She always rambled when embarrassed. Well, actually, there was hardly a case when either Gilmore girl didn't ramble, but it was one of the things Jess found most endearing about her. He didn't need to talk much, she carried the whole conversation by herself most of the time. It worked out well because when he finally did decide to string together multiple sentences, he usually got her full attention just out of sheer shock.

"It's okay. No harm done. But why were you trying to surprise me? Are you planning to join the CIA? Because, if so, you do need some more practice on those covert ops. I could hear you a mile away" he teased.

"I don't know," she said, her face turning pink, "I guess I thought it would be romantic or something?"

Jess could not think of a single thing to say to that. All his witty retorts failed him as he racked his brain to find an appropriate response. Rory couldn't think of anything else to say, either. She stood there waiting for his response, feeling like an idiot. She was getting a little desperate, but she didn't care. She knew what she wanted and didn't have enough time to play games. They only had a few days before the real world came crashing down on them and they would be separated again for months. They stood staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity, but was more like 30 seconds, before Jess finally ignored the warning lights in his head telling him he was setting himself up for heartache again. He took a step forward and pulled her close again, pausing only for a moment to lock eyes with her, and kissed her. Again, they were teenagers, not caring who saw their public display. Jess had always known he was fighting a losing battle, but at this moment, he was glad she had won. They could worry about all the complications and awkward scenarios they were about to encounter later.

"So…" Jess began when he was finally able to catch his breath, "I can either turn around and walk you back to your house, or I can keep walking where I was going originally, only with company this time."

"Keep walking" Rory instructed, recognizing this tactic. It was his way of gauging what she thought about a situation without actually having to ask or state his opinion on the matter. She knew there was going to be hell to pay for this decision tomorrow, but she didn't care. She finally had what she wanted and everything else be damned.


	4. Reactions

Disclaimer: I own my own rambling thoughts, nothing more.

Ch.4- Reactions

Lorelai watched as Rory strolled out the door, wishing there was something she could do to stop her. She knew where her daughter was going; after Jess. After the boy who broke her heart so many years ago. What she couldn't understand was why. As much as she had disliked Logan at times, she was at least grateful that he had helped in getting Rory to move past her exes. Now she was going back there again. Not to mention he was Luke's nephew, which added a whole new level of weirdness to the situation. She didn't realize that she was completely zoned out until Sookie stood up and announced that she, too, was going home. Lorelai barely managed a decent good-bye to her best friend before resuming her vacant stare towards the door. Luke walked Sookie out and turned back to his fiancée.

"Lorelai; you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, just peachy" she replied absently.

"Oh yeah, that's convincing. I know what you're thinking. You can't just go after her. They have to figure this thing out on their own. They aren't kids anymore" Luke reasoned.

"I know that. And I know that you're all buddy-buddy with Jess now. The fact that I think he's actually turned into a decent guy somehow makes it worse. It's just weird. I don't like that she's hiding things from me. And I don't how she wants me to react. Should I wait until she gets back and play the friend card, or should I wait until she gets back and play the mom card?"

"I don't think you should wait up at all. You don't know when she'll get back, or if she'll even get back at all, and I would rather not sleep alone tonight."

"She'd better get back tonight! I can't even think of the alternative right now. But you're right, I should just come to bed. If she wants to talk, she'll wake me up" Lorelai finally acquiesced and followed Luke upstairs, hoping she'd be woken up soon.

Just before dawn, Jess stirred, opening his eyes slowly, careful not to disturb the sleeping beauty in his arms. He smiled and debated getting up to start a pot of coffee, but decided it could wait a few more minutes. Rory was brought out of her dream by the slight shifting of weight across her waist. She didn't move, in case Jess was asleep. She took a moment to collect herself. It wasn't even light outside yet, which was good because it meant she still had time to escape the diner without anyone in the town seeing. She had obviously spent the night, but was still fully clothed minus her shoes. Her mom was going to kill her anyway. She smiled slightly as Jess tightened his grip around her before sliding easily off the bed and heading for the coffee maker.

"Merry Christmas" she said, giggling as the sound of her voice made him jump every so slightly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I was going to make you coffee for your Christmas present, seeing as how I didn't actually buy you anything" he teased.

"Well, that's okay, because my mom has probably replaced all your gifts with coal by now" she retorted.

"I'll be lucky if that's all she does. Do we really have to go over there today?"

"Jess! Of course we do. Then we're going to see your mom and sister later this afternoon and then to my grandparents for dinner" she rattled off.

"Ugh. I thought you were kidding about that part. I thought you loved me."

"Stop whining. Maybe if you had gotten me a real present you would have something to bargain with, but that ship has sailed, my friend."

"Hey, I haven't given you this coffee yet, I could just pour it down the drain" Jess threatened.

"You wouldn't" Rory stated, matter-of-factly.

Jess sighed, pouring two mugs full of the freshly brewed elixir and handing one to the girl still in his bed. She smiled appreciatively and sipped the hot liquid. Jess didn't even bother to drink his, he only held it so he had something to do with his hands. After a few minutes, Rory looked up and handed her mug to Jess, who set both cups on the table and took a deep breath before turning back around to meet her gaze.

"Jess," she began, "what are we doing?"

"We're having coffee together on Christmas morning."

"You know what I mean. I thought when I came up here last night we were going to… well, I wasn't expecting to make hot chocolate and watch Christmas movies. Not that we didn't have fun; but you're not just a friend, and I don't want you to be. I can't figure you out anymore. I need to know what you want" she laid out, bluntly.

"I love you, Rory, but we leave in two days. I have to go back to Philly and you have to go where ever it is you go next and we won't see each other for God knows how long. I'm not going to screw this up again. I can't" Jess explained quietly.

"You're not going to screw anything up. And I love you, too" she added, putting her head on his shoulder.

Jess relaxed and ran his fingers through her hair, kissing the top of her head. He knew he was being overcautious, but it would be worth it in the end. The sun was beginning to rise and Jess knew it was time to get Rory home before the whole town started waking up and spreading rumors. The stroll to Lorelai's started out peaceful, with the sun rising slowly and illuminating the town. A few times they had to duck behind a building to avoid an early riser, but that only made the trip entertaining. They were still laughing about having to hide from Taylor in the bushes as they walked up the front porch steps, but all laughter ceased when the door suddenly opened from the inside, revealing a very angry Lorelai.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but next will be Christmas at the Crapshack! Stay Tuned!


	5. A Very Gilmore Christmas Part 1

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but at least the chapter is longer than the others, even though I'm splitting this part into two chapters. I'll try to make the next chapter long too, because I'm not sure when I'll get it done. Again, sorry. Busyness and lack of inspiration does not a good combination make.

Disclaimer: Still too poor to own anything.

Ch. 5- A Very Gilmore Christmas (Part 1)

Lorelai glared at the boy (well, technically man now, she had to admit) standing with his arm around her daughter's waist. It wasn't so much that she was mad that Rory had spent the night with him, it was more that she had lost valuable time with her daughter and it was his fault. Rory shifted uncomfortably, not sure whether she should offer up an explanation or wait for her mother to voice her thoughts. Jess merely stood, unmoving, thinking about just how bad things could possibly get and how the hell he could fix it. Finally, Lorelai got tired of holding her tongue.

"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded, still glaring accusingly at Jess.

"Well, we were trying to find you the perfect Christmas present, if you must know" Jess responded, much to the surprise of both women.

"And where is this supposed present?" she asked after the initial shock of actually hearing Jess speak more than one word to her wore off.

"We couldn't find anything to match your level of awesomeness" he replied, with no hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh, you're good" she said to Jess skeptically before rounding on her daughter, "He's good. Did you teach him that?"

"No, I didn't. That was all him" she told her mother honestly.

Lorelai shook her head and motioned for the younger two to follow her in the house. She wasn't sure what had just happened, but she couldn't think of any witty banter to follow such a statement. Jess followed the two women in the house with a triumphant smirk on his face. He had just beaten the master and it felt good. He suddenly felt much better about the day, no matter how many family members he would have to endure. They entered the living room to find Luke plugging the Christmas tree lights in.

"Rory, Jess, merry Christmas!" he greeted them cheerfully.

"You, too, Uncle Luke" Jess replied. It was weird getting used to seeing his uncle cheerful instead of grumpy and gruff.

"Hey Luke. It's good to see you! I've missed you and Mom so much!" Rory said, hugging her soon-to-be-step-father.

"It's present time now, right?" Lorelai interrupted.

Luke sighed. "I told your mom we could open presents right when you got here since I have to head over to the diner soon. She didn't think you'd be back in time, but I told her you would."

"Thanks, Luke. I'm glad somebody has faith in me" she said, darting a fake glare at her mother.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Faith, shmaith. Let's open presents!" Lorelai said excitedly.

Luke played Santa (without the hat, despite Lorelai's persistent nagging), passing out presents. In a flurry of torn paper, the presents were soon unwrapped and everyone was taking inventory of their loot. Luke left for the diner, promising to return as soon as he was confident that Caesar was not going to burn the place down. Lorelai suggested that they watch something seasonal before breakfast.

"As long as it's not A Christmas Story again. I don't think I could take it" Jess groaned.

"Uh oh, how many times did you have to watch it?" Lorelai asked sympathetically.

"We only watched it twice, you big baby!" Rory teased.

"That's only because I told you that if you made me watch it a third time I'd have to shoot out both my eyes with a BB gun. And then after all that, you wouldn't even watch the Grinch with me."

"I told you, we have to save all the good cartoons for today to watch with Mom. It's tradition, isn't it, Mom?" Rory asked dramatically.

"It sure is. I can't believe you spent the night with a boy and all you did was watch TV" Lorelai teased her daughter, breathing a silent sigh of relief.

"We drank hot chocolate, too" Jess offered.

Lorelai smiled. She couldn't believe she had almost wasted her entire day being mad over something so silly and selfish as not wanting her daughter to spend time with someone other than her. She didn't even mind now that she was going to be sharing her movie tradition with Jess, which surprised her, but she supposed she was going to end up sharing it anyway because Luke was going to come back soon and join them. They agreed to first watch Twas the Night Before Christmas because Luke didn't like the mice, they creeped him out, and he was still at the diner. Then they decided when Luke came home with the food, they could watch Charlie Brown and the Grinch (the cartoon, of course) and possibly Rudolph, if there was time before they were supposed to visit Liz and TJ. It turned out that they did have time, as they had all woken up ridiculously early. Luke and Lorelai had decided to go with Jess and Rory to see Liz and TJ and Doula for lunch, so they headed out together just before noon. When they got to the front door, they heard loud voices coming from inside. They shared a worried glance before Jess stepped forward and knocked loudly. Liz answered the door with a broad smile on her face and immediately hugged her son, who begrudgingly hugged her back.

"Merry Christmas, my only son! Big brother, Lorelai, Rory, merry Christmas! Come in, come in!" Liz greeted the group, ushering them inside.

"Liz, is everything okay?" Luke asked protectively.

"Of course, why wouldn't it be? It's Christmas and all my favorite people are here to visit me. Everything is wonderful!"

"It sounded like you and TJ were fighting when we first got here."

"Fighting? We were just showing Doula how to play with her new toys" TJ said as he walked in the room. He, too, had a large grin on his face. "Merry Christmas everybody!"

It seemed as though there really was no trouble in paradise this time, although Jess decided that he was already tired of hearing people wish him a merry Christmas and was debating on whether or not he could turn it into a drinking game. He decided against that thought when he noticed that all there was to drink was eggnog. He grimaced at the thought. Besides, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to show up at Casa Gilmore wasted out of his mind. He decided to say hello to his sister instead. She couldn't talk yet, which was a nice change of pace to being surrounded by the three most talkative women on the planet all under the same roof. He suddenly understood why they had thought Liz and TJ had been fighting. Doula wasn't big enough to play with any of the toys they had bought her and obviously they had been doing the honors instead. How could someone who couldn't speak yet play with a karaoke machine anyway? He picked up his sister and spoke quietly to her in soft murmurs. She quickly fell asleep in his arms, which he found comforting in a way. He noticed Rory watching him out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't put his sister down. She wouldn't be little forever and he hardly ever got to visit her, so he figured he should make this visit count.

Rory watched Jess with his baby sister, mesmerized. She had never seen him show his soft side to anyone but her before and it was incredible to watch. She could tell that her mom and Luke were noticing as well. Doula wasn't even old enough to remember him, yet Jess was spending as much time with her as possible. It was clear that he loved the little girl, though he had only met her a handful of times. She decided not to disturb him just yet, so she joined Liz and her mom's conversation but was only half listening. When it was time for lunch, Jess finally put his sister to sleep and joined the adults around the table. Rory took hold of his hand and squeezed it lightly. Jess had never particularly liked the holidays, but this one was turning out pretty good. He actually joined the conversation more than once. Rory had always had a powerful effect on him, but somehow it was more pronounced now. He supposed it was because he finally felt worthy of her and knew that there was a chance they would be able to work things out this time.

After lunch, Lorelai and Luke headed to the diner for some coffee. Rory decided to pay Lane a visit while Jess went upstairs to Luke's old apartment to work on his latest novel. When Rory arrived at Lane and Zach's she was greeted with squeals from two adorable baby boys and an exhausted hug from her best friend. There were tiny scraps of wrapping paper all over the living room and a bowl of cheerios was toppled over on the couch. Zach and Brian were playing Guitar Hero in the corner of the room, seemingly oblivious to the madness.

"Wow, looks like you're morning has been even more eventful than mine" Rory commented as she crossed the threshold, dodging plastic blocks and pacifiers.

"I should have known better than to let Zach open his presents before we cleaned up the boys' mess. I'm going to have to cut the power to drag him away from the TV. So how are things going with Jess? I'm dying for an update" Lane pleaded.

"Well, he came to my welcome home dinner last night and when he left randomly, I followed him. It was snowing and I ran into him and we kissed and then went back to the diner apartment and he made me hot chocolate and we watched A Christmas Story twice and both fell asleep in his bed. Today we've already done presents with Mom and Luke and been to see Liz, TJ, and Doula. You should see Jess with his sister, it is so cute! I never would have pegged him for the kid-type, but he was so good with her."

"Hey, that's how it usually happens. I mean, look at Luke. He hated kids until he found out about April and he's been a great dad to her. And Zach, too. Who would have thought he would make such a terrific father, and to twins no less?"

"Certainly not me" Zach answered.

"Hey, private conversation here, geez…" Lane said, laughing as her husband immediately went back to playing his game, oblivious to the rest of the world again.

"Okay, so I was on the road and was completely broke, but I managed to find you this" Rory said, handing Lane a long, thin package.

"Oh, I've got yours in the other room. I'll be right back, we'll open together" Lane replied walking towards the bedroom.

When Lane returned with Rory's gift, they sat in the middle of the floor to open the presents so they would be within reach of the twins. Rory had found a set of decorative jade drumsticks in a hole-in-the-wall music store that reminded her a lot of the store Jess had taken her to in New York. Lane gave Rory several CD's from obscure bands so she would have something new to listen to when she had to go back on the road. Their time together was too short for both their likings, but Rory had to get ready to see her grandparents and Lane had to put the twins down for a nap. Rory promised to come by again before leaving town and headed home once more.


	6. A Very Gilmore Christmas Part 2

A/N: Again, sorry for the wait. Hopefully this chapter will be good enough for forgiveness.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the chapters would come much quicker because then I could quit my stupid job!

Ch. 6- A Very Gilmore Christmas (Part 2)

Approaching the impressive house of Richard and Emily Gilmore had always been a chore to the younger generations; tonight was no exception. Lorelai and Rory were arguing over who should ring the doorbell while Luke stood silently by, practically attached to his fiancée, fidgeting nervously. Jess thought the scene was hilarious, but was eager to get this night over with as quickly as possible. He walked, unnoticed, up to the front door and knocked loudly. All three heads swiveled around simultaneously to stare at him with wide eyes. A maid answered the door and invited them inside. After taking everyone's coats, the maid led them into the living room where they would be having their customary cocktails. Emily looked startled as her guests entered.

"I didn't hear the doorbell. Did you hear the doorbell, Richard?"

"No, Emily, I did not hear the doorbell" her husband responded patiently.

"They knocked" replied the maid timidly before hurrying out of the room.

"Who knocked? You always ring the doorbell. That is why we have one. Honestly, Lorelai, was this your doing? It is Christmas and you should show some sort of decorum for once in your life" she began, standing with her hand on her hips.

"It was me. I didn't know knocking was banned. Sorry" Jess interrupted her, earning himself an appraising, disapproving glance.

"And just who are you?" she asked, before turning her glare back to her daughter, "Who is this Lorelai? Are you bringing random people off the streets to dinner now?"

"Mom, this is Jess, Luke's nephew. I told you on the phone yesterday that he was coming to dinner. And you've met him before" Lorelai explained through gritted teeth.

"Oh yes, that's right. You're the one who came to dinner with a black eye and left rudely before dinner was over. You also broke my granddaughter's arm did you not?" she accused, turning back to stare at Jess once more. She looked even more disgusted than when she thought he was a random person off the streets.

"That was me, but I didn't break Rory's arm. The dashboard of the car did that" he replied, trying to keep from sounding overly sarcastic.

"Why don't I get everyone some drinks?" Richard interjected, "Jess, I am Richard. Rory's grandfather. I don't believe we have met before. It is nice to finally meet you. I have heard quite a bit about you. Now, what can I get everyone? Girls, would you like martinis?"

"Yes, dad. Thank you" said Lorelai, glad for the change in subject.

"Thanks, grandpa" Rory echoed, taking her drink.

"Luke, Jess, would you like a beer?" Richard asked politely.

"Beer would be good" answered Luke.

"Actually, could I get a rum and coke?" Jess asked, earning an approving nod from both Rory and Lorelai.

When everyone was seated with their drinks, Emily began trying to make polite conversation. Rory and Lorelai exchanged a nervous glance, knowing that she was up to something. Richard, however, was seeming to take a liking to Jess after hearing that he was a published writer. Everyone was starting to relax when Emily finally struck.

"So, Rory. I've made you a list of young people in cities across the country that you should be visiting with your job. I want you to consider looking them up. You need some social interaction with people other than your co-workers" she said as she handed Rory a folded sheet of paper.

"Grandma, these are all guy names" Rory stated as she glanced over the list.

"Well, we think that it's time you move on from Logan. We were hopeful that you would accept his proposal, but since you didn't, it is high time you stop moping about him and find a suitable replacement" Emily explained.

"I don't want to replace Logan, Grandma. And I'm actually seeing somebody right now, so this list is a little inappropriate."

"You're seeing someone?" Emily asked excitedly, "Is he a co-worker? Because interoffice relationships are not always a good idea. Lorelai, have you met this boy she's seeing yet?"

"He's not a co-worker. He lives in Philadelphia and mom has met him before."

"How long have you been dating? How long have you known about this and not told me Lorelai?"

"We actually just started dating officially last night" Rory answered honestly, looking to Lorelai for help.

"How did you do that if he's in Philadelphia? You're not having some lewd online relationship are you? They are so tacky."

"No, grandma. I'm dating Jess" she said quickly, taking a deep breath and holding it.

"Jess? As in this Jess? Rory, you can't be serious. You're dating this hoodlum again? After what happened last time? This is unacceptable. Not to mention he is your mother's fiancée's nephew. I forbid it. Lorelai, how could you let this happen?" she practically squealed.

Lorelai looked helplessly at her daughter and shrugged. Jess downed his drink in one gulp and shook his head. Luke watched looking slightly amused. Rory looked furious and was about to respond, but her grandmother didn't give her a chance.

"Rory, I know that Logan leaving was hard on you, but come to your senses. You can't be serious about this. It's not like you love this boy" she said gesturing to Jess, and emphasizing the last two words.

Rory couldn't say anything. She looked like a deer in headlights. Emily thought she was going to have a stroke when she realized what it meant that her granddaughter hadn't said anything.

"Oh my God, you do love him" she exclaimed, horrified.

Rory emptied the contents of her glass down her throat, feeling mortified. She was relieved that the maid chose this exact time to announce that dinner was ready. The group walked in silence to the dining room. Lorelai placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder before taking her place across the table from her. Jess hated wine, but he drank the glass in front of him immediately and gave a grateful smile to the maid as she replaced the empty glass with a full one before anyone else realized it. He grabbed Rory's hand under the table and squeezed it reassuringly. Rory let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding and relaxed at this gesture.

The rest of dinner went surprisingly well in comparison to drinks. Emily continued to make veiled references to Rory finding an appropriate relationship while on the campaign trail and finding hidden insults to throw at Luke and Jess, but nothing as blatant as her previous outburst. After dinner, Richard brought the girls their Christmas gifts and Lorelai ran to her car to bring in the gifts for her parents that she had forgotten to bring in. The younger couple was glad that they had decided to all ride together because between the cocktails and the never-ending supply of wine at dinner, thanks to the awesome maid, they were feeling slightly tipsy and were in no condition to drive. On the way home, Lorelai commended them on a job well done at dinner, although she would have preferred that someone had gotten angry and stormed off so they could have left earlier. When they pulled up to their house, Jess began to say goodnight to Rory when Lorelai pulled him aside.

"Stay here tonight. You can have the couch. No one should be alone after getting properly Gilmored. It's not safe."

The older two adults went upstairs to bed, leaving Rory and Jess alone in the living room. Rory rested her head on Jess' shoulder and sighed, glad to finally be able to relax. She was feeling pleasantly warm from all the alcohol she had consumed at dinner and was perfectly content to stay where she was all night. Jess, though, decided to break the peaceful silence.

"That was some night. Remind me why I agreed to that again?" he asked sleepily.

"Because men are powerless to a Gilmore girl's demands. Well, at least you and Luke are."

"You're grandmother was a bit scarier than last time. Are you sure you don't want to take her list and see what kind of guys she's picked out for you?"

"Ugh. I know what kind of guys she's picked out for me. The one and only time she set me up on a date it was a total disaster. I was shanghaied or else I never would have agreed to it. She's not the best judge of character."

"So she gets everything wrong then" he prompted, remembering the last thing she said during the disastrous cocktails.

"She gets some things right" she said, remembering the same thing.

"So you love me, huh?" he half-teased, putting his arm around her.

"I really do" she said seriously, sitting up to look him in the eyes.

She was sure that the alcohol had made her say that, but she also knew it was completely true. She had always loved Jess and it was time he knew it. He smiled at her, really smiled, before pulling her in for a deep kiss. It wasn't until they were lying in Rory's bed, clothes strewn across the floor haphazardly, that Jess finally responded with words.

"I love you, too, Rory. Merry Christmas" he whispered as they slid into a refreshing night's sleep with smiles on both their faces.


	7. Holiday Hangover

A/N: Thank you for all the great reviews.

Disclaimer: Lather, rinse, repeat the last few disclaimers.

Ch. 7- Holiday Hangover

The sun had finished rising and Rory Gilmore was still sleeping peacefully. Her body was trying to awaken at the faint aroma of freshly brewed coffee, but her brain wouldn't listen. The previous night had been exhausting, but the ending had been so good she kept reliving it over again in her dreams and she did not want to wake up and have it all end. So she stayed in a half-conscious, but still technically asleep state, waiting until she had an undeniable reason to get up. She got one when a familiar voice caused her eyes to pop open and her body to jolt upright.

"Hmm… I wonder where Jess could have gone. He's not on the couch anymore" Lorelai said loudly in a sing-song voice right outside of Rory's bedroom door.

"What's wrong? Lay back down" Jess said lazily when he felt Rory sit up abruptly.

"My mom is awake and she knows you're in here" she replied frantically.

"So? If she was that upset about it, she would have come barging in and started beating me with a shoe or something" he calmly reasoned with her, sitting up and putting his arm around her.

"Oh no. This is worse, trust me. She's just messing with me now. The real bomb is going to drop in about ten minutes. It's gonna be bad" Rory said dramatically.

"Fine, fine. I still think you're overreacting" Jess said, climbing across her and starting to dress himself.

"You remember the first night we met and you tried to get me to climb out the window with you? I'm totally up for that now."

"Hey, you know me, I'm always down for sneaking out, and I certainly wouldn't have resisted that offer last night at your grandparent's house, but how is coming in from outside any better than coming out from here? You said your mom already knows. Won't she make fun of you more if you try to hide it?"

"I wasn't planning on coming back… ever. God, I'm stupid. I will never hear the end of this" Rory lamented, shaking her head slowly as she pulled on a fresh pair of jeans.

"Seriously, you two, Luke will be down soon so you better get out here now if you want to avoid the freak-out" came Lorelai's voice through the doorway.

Jess smirked at Rory, clearly thinking it was safe to exit now, and headed from the bedroom to the kitchen. Rory was torn between staying in her room and locking herself in forever and going to the kitchen to at least enjoy one last cup of coffee before the killing commenced. The strong aroma of coffee now that the door was open made her decision for her. She walked in, shocked to see her mother pouring Jess a cup of coffee and not even spilling any of it on him "accidentally". She took a deep breath.

"Morning, Mom. Coffee smells good" she said, trying to sound as nonchalant as her mother and boyfriend were acting.

"I convinced Luke to let me take some from the diner to make at home when I'm running late. I even stole some of his to-go cups, but he found them and took them back. I got this handy travel mug instead" Lorelai explained, grabbing a mug from the counter that had clearly never been used before and handing it to her daughter.

"Hey, I could actually use one of these on the road so I don't have to keep drinking crappy coffee all day long. Do you think Luke would let me have a bag or two of his coffee, too? I miss it so much when I'm away."

"No way! If he gives you his coffee, you'll have no reason to come home" Lorelai said as she snatched the mug back from Rory.

"He doesn't know that you took the coffee does he?" Rory accused.

"Well, not technically, but in a few months the whole 'what's mine is yours' thing goes into full effect, and I intend to take advantage of it" Lorelai defended herself.

Jess sat back, watching the two women bantering back and forth, glad he wasn't being forced to make awkward conversation. He actually listened to them, allowing a distraction from his own thought process. He wanted to have a pleasant morning before the goodbyes began. He was dreading the afternoon. It was obvious that Lorelai felt the same way, otherwise she would probably be making jokes about the events of the previous night. When Luke finally came downstairs, there was no evidence that anything untoward had happened. He had a new found respect for Lorelai for not being angry and even being nice toward him. He had thought she would be one to hold a grudge to the grave, but was glad to be wrong about it. Once Luke left for the diner, Jess decided to go with him so he could start packing and give Rory and her mom some alone time. With the men gone, Rory waited for the barrage to start, but it never came. She decided to approach the topic herself because she couldn't take the suspense anymore.

"Mom, why aren't you mad?"

"Why would I be mad? You haven't done anything wrong. Besides, this is the third guy I've caught you with, I'm kind of used to it by now" her mom replied.

"Geez, way to make me sound slutty," Rory said jokingly, "So you're really okay with me and Jess?"

"You know, I think I am. I know the situation is not very traditional, but he seems to make you happy and he's making an effort to be a decent human being to the rest of us, so yeah. He's not so bad all grown up."

"I don't want to leave yet, Mom" Rory said, starting to tear up.

"I don't want you to leave either, kid."

"I feel like I haven't gotten to spend any time with you. I'm so sorry. I've been so caught up with the whole Jess thing that I didn't even realize how little time I had with you."

"That's what happens when you fall in love. You forget all the important people, like the ones who gave you life…" Lorelai teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"Okay, I get it. I'll stop blubbering like an idiot now. Let's just enjoy our last day together."

"That's the spirit! Now, do we want to go to the mall and exchange the gifts your grandmother got us?"

"You are so bad! And yes." Rory replied with a smile as she prepared to spend some quality time with her mother, finally.

A/N: I'm so over this chapter. Sorry if the end sucks, but the next chapter should be entertaining if I can get it out of my head properly.


	8. California Love

A/N: This one's just for fun. I had the thought, now I'm putting it to paper. Thanks to everyone who reviews.

Disclaimer: That's not my bag, ba-by. (Read in a British accent) (Oh crap, does this mean I need a disclaimer for the disclaimer? Fine then, I don't own Austin Powers either!) Yeah, yeah, I'm crazy… it's been a long day.

Ch. 8- California Love

"I can't believe you came all the way to San Francisco just to see me and managed to get away with it at work!" Rory exclaimed for the fifteenth time, reveling in the fact that she had the sweetest boyfriend in the world.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea to try pushing Matthew's poet's book on the West Coast. I just offered to play distributor. Lucky for you, I have impeccable timing" Jess replied, glad that his surprise had been a good one.

"Well, I still say you're here just for me. Let me have my delusions" she kidded.

"You're not deluded. I'm just good at manipulating my co-workers. Chris almost had a heart attack when I agreed that the idea to travel across the country just to push a crappy book of poetry was a good one" he replied slyly, pulling her close for a kiss that quickly turned into much more.

The alarm on Rory's cell phone startled them both back into reality. They were perfectly content spooning in Rory's hotel room bed and did not appreciate the interruption. It was lucky for Rory, though, that she was the type of person who set her alarm routinely, despite there not normally being a need for it, because she would have missed work entirely today without it. Sighing, Rory made an effort to rise from the bed to retrieve her clothing, but was held in place by a strong, deliciously warm arm.

"No…" Jess mumbled into the back of her head.

"Work" she replied, temporarily catching Jess' disappearing verbal disorder.

"Fine, call me when you're done and I'll come get you" he said sullenly, as he slowly removed his arm from around her waist.

"You're such a drama queen. It's only a couple of hours" she teased half-heartedly, knowing that she was regretting those few hours just as much as he was.

"Drama queen? Who was the one who threw a temper tantrum this morning when the coffee maker wouldn't brew fast enough and she only got one cup of coffee before she had to leave the room? I won't even mention the fact that there was free coffee at your meeting in the ballroom downstairs. Oh wait, I just mentioned it didn't I? Oops" he teased back, realizing that his pouting wasn't making their time together any longer.

"You're evil. Just for that, I'm working overtime. Or I would if I was allowed… It's the thought that counts!" she retorted, glad that she was able to put a smile back on his face.

After a few more minutes of banter, Rory really did have to go to work. It was pure torture, too. She felt like she was back in high school, daydreaming about her boyfriend. She had to fight the urge to doodle his name all over her notepad and force herself to focus. The second the event was over, she sent a hurried text message and headed for the door. Had she been paying attention, she might have noticed a familiar figure and began evasive maneuvers. She was too focused on her beeline for the door, though, that she was ambushed when a blonde man suddenly stepped in front of her.

"Hey Ace" he greeted her in a familiar voice.

"Logan. Umm… hi. What are you doing here?" she floundered, completely taken aback.

"Truthfully? I heard through the grapevine that a certain budding reporter was attending this fine event, so I decided to grace it with my presence" he answered, sounding as cocky as ever.

"Oh" she replied, again being struck with Jess' non-verbal disorder.

"So, how are you? You look good" he continued, ignoring her lack of a response.

"Good. Yeah, I'm good. How are you?" she asked awkwardly.

"Oh, you know me, Ace, I'm good. But I could always be better" he added suggestively.

Rory gave a weak laugh and began to look around, but trying not to be obvious about it. She figured she just had to buy some time and keep the conversation neutral; easier said than done, though. Jess had looked around for Rory outside for a few minutes, but decided that she was probably stuck in the crowd inside. He considered just waiting for her to show up, but discarded the thought as something he would have done back in high school. He was trying to be the type of guy Rory deserved, even if she insisted that she didn't want him to change at all. He knew she appreciated the small gestures that showed her that he loved her, especially when they seemed out of character. So he decided to brave the mass of people and search for her inside. He felt a moment of panic, therefore, when he saw her chatting amicably with the blonde dick from Yale, of all people. Fighting the urge to storm off and never return, he took a deep breath and walked up to her calmly.

"Rory, there you are. I was getting worried" he said, trying to keep any edge from his voice.

"Jess. I was wondering when you'd get here" she said, the relief evident in her voice.

"Well I did have to pull myself away from a rather captivating manuscript" he said sarcastically, but relief was evident in his voice as well.

"Uh-oh. You're not going to publish her, then?"

"Not if I have any say in the matter. Which I'm not entirely sure I will. Matthew did think she was pretty hot, though she certainly wasn't my type. He seems to think that you can sell a book by having a hot chick on the back cover" he said, ignoring Logan and putting his complete focus on Rory, until they were interrupted by someone clearing his throat noisily.

"Oh, sorry. Jess, you remember Logan, right? He's here for… sorry, but why did you say you were here again?" she asked a little too innocently.

"I'm here for work" he replied stiffly.

"Well, we'd better get going. Nice to see you again, man" Jess said only slightly sarcatically, trying hard not to smirk.

"Yeah, sure. Bye, Rory" Logan replied sadly.

Jess took Rory by the arm and she waved at Logan, suddenly feeling slightly guilty when she saw the look of disappointment on his face. The guilt melted away, though, as soon as she looked up the man she loved and realized that he must have worked really hard to stay so calm about the situation. He could have made Logan look like a total idiot and treated him as poorly as Logan had treated Jess the first time they met. Or he could have seen her talking to Logan and freaked out, leaving her and going back to Philly before she could give an explanation. It was a testament to how much he had matured, but she was glad that he wasn't too grown up to join her when she started giggling about the look on Logan's face when he first saw Jess as they made their way back to the car.

As the happy couple walked away, arms interlocked, Logan watched, finding it somewhat hard to breathe. He had been so sure he could make things right with Rory by showing up today, but apparently he was too late. Anger flashed into his head thinking about that damn smirk on Jess' face that he hadn't been able to hide so well. Was _he _the reason Rory said no to the proposal? Somehow he didn't really believe that, but it made him feel better to blindly hate the man who had managed to win back the heart of the only girl he had ever attempted to have a real relationship with. The worst part was, they actually did look really happy together.

A/N: It didn't come out quite the same as in my head, but I think I like it anyway. What about you?


	9. Wedding Daze

A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry! I had to wait for my friend's wedding for some inspiration for this one. And I had to wait for the madness that comes with being someone's maid of honor to be over and done with. As always, thank you to all who reviewed and will continue to review.

Disclaimer: Ditto.

Ch. 9- Wedding Daze

Lorelai had been pacing around her living room for 45 minutes, pausing every so often to peer out her window down the street. Attempts by Luke to convince her that pacing would not make her daughter arrive early did nothing to dissuade her. She hadn't seen her only child since Christmas and was anxiously awaiting her arrival. So when she saw the car pulling into the driveway fifteen minutes prior to the estimated time, she ran out the door and into the driveway, causing the driver of the car to have to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting her. Laughing, she ran to the passenger side door and yanked it open.

"Rory!" she exclaimed, pulling her daughter out of the car into a hug.

"Mom! I missed you! Are you ready for tomorrow?" she asked as they walked arm-in-arm toward the house.

Jess rolled his eyes at the retreating women and pulled the rest of the way into the driveway. He began gathering the luggage from the trunk of his car. He had woken up early to drive to D.C. to pick up his girlfriend and bring her home for the weekend. He gave his uncle a grateful smile as he emerged from the house to help bring the bags inside.

"How was the trip?" Luke asked his nephew, grabbing the bags Jess had left behind.

"Long, but good. I was secretly glad she couldn't get a direct flight to Hartford. It was nice to have some alone time with her before the madness begins. How are you holding up? Feeling the need to run yet?"

"I'm actually holding up well. Everything has been going smoothly and I really haven't had to do anything. Sookie says I have no say in the proceedings. She's back on her BFOTB kick."

"BFOTB?" Jess questioned, amused.

"Best friend of the bride. She says that the groom is just supposed to show up and do as I'm told. Lorelai asks my opinion when she's not around, though. She says this wedding is going to be bigger and better than the one she originally planned. I'm just glad you guys are finally here. Lorelai was driving me crazy pacing all morning."

"We're glad to be here, too. It's all Rory's been talking about for weeks. She's been bummed she hasn't been able to be here until now. Apparently she plans to make up for that tonight with the bachelorette party. She's expecting me to take you out, too."

"Of course she is. Like mother, like daughter" he replied as they entered the house and dropped off Rory's bags in her room.

Rory had determined to devote herself to her mother until she was safely on route to her honeymoon. She did take time to steal some kisses from Jess when she made coffee runs at Luke's throughout the day, but other than that, she was glued to her mother's side. She and Sookie pampered Lorelai with a complete spa day before dressing her up in a bride-to-be sash with matching veiled tiara and whisking her off to a nightclub in Hartford. They managed to surprise her and the rest of the guests with naughty party favors that made Babette howl with laughter and Miss Patty reminisce about each of her former husbands in turn. Several drinks later, Rory decided it was time to get her mother home. It would never do to have a hung-over bride who couldn't walk down the aisle without stumbling. Rory helped her mom up the stairs to her bed and brought several bottles of water, Advil, and the box of imported chocolates she had received as an early wedding present from some distant relative. Lorelai decided that it would relax her more if Rory told her about how her relationship with Jess was going, so Rory began telling her about all the times he came to visit her in the past few months while she was on the road. She started with the most recent visits, saving the California tale for last.

"So Logan found out where you'd be and tried to get you back?" Lorelai asked incredulously when Rory was finished with her story.

"Yeah, it was weird. I mean, for the first few months I was gone, I would have given anything for him to realize that he was an idiot and come back to me. But when I saw him, I just wanted to run away" Rory stated simply.

"Well, you have Jess now. You don't want to be with Logan anymore. It's a good thing if you don't get butterflies when you see him now, right?"

"Yeah, it's a good thing, but it was weird. I wasn't hoping that he would want me back, and then when he said he did I just felt uncomfortable. And then Jess came in. I thought he was going to freak out, but he was so calm and acted like he had no doubt that it was him I wanted and not Logan. Since when is he the mature one?" Rory asked with a slight pout.

"You know, I was kind of hoping he would take Logan down a notch or two. I mean, coming to see you with no warning and just expecting you to take him back like nothing had ever happened. Like that was going to work after all this time" Lorelai scoffed.

"Well, it might have if I didn't have Jess back, although maybe not with the lack of butterflies and all. Either way, I'm glad things worked out the way they did. I never did stop loving Jess. I mean, I loved Logan when we were together, but even when Jess and I were apart, seeing him always gave me butterflies. There's always been a connection between us, like we're drawn together. Kind of like you and Luke. No matter what happens, it's always there, even when you're trying to be just friends. You know, I'm really glad you two are finally getting married. Tomorrow is going to be amazing." Rory said, starting to drift off to sleep near the end of her ramble.

"I'm happy, too, kid. For both of us. I love you" she said allowing her eyes to finally close.

"I love you, too, Mom" Rory replied before falling into a peaceful sleep.

The next day was chaotic to say the least. Lorelai and Rory had to fend off all the attendants Emily had brought with her to make sure they looked perfect together. Lorelai did take her mother's suggestion from years ago; however, and wore a small tiara in her hair above the veil that draped down the back of her head. The new dress was even more perfect than the dress she had found previously and it had not been the first one she saw. Lorelai thought that was a good sign because it didn't seem too easy this go around. Between the hair and make-up and calming of nerves, the day went by in a blur. Suddenly, everyone was lined up, ready to make their entrance. The men took their places first, Luke was followed by Jess and Jackson. All three men turned toward where the women would enter with stoic expressions. Sookie walked down the aisle first, sobbing uncontrollably, which caused half the audience to begin doing the same. When it was Rory's turn to walk, she calmly strode forward, willing herself not to slip into hysterics like everyone else. When she got close enough to see that Luke had a single tear rolling down his cheek and he hadn't even seen his bride yet, Rory felt silent tears of her own escaping her eyes. Finally the wedding march sounded and Lorelai emerged looking radiant in her new and improved gown. Richard took her arm and led her toward Luke slowly. At the end of the aisle, Richard was asked to give his daughter away. He did so reluctantly, not because he disapproved (they were long past that), but because this was the first time she had asked to be let go instead of simply running off. Rory's tears began flowing stronger as she watched her grandfather embrace her mother and place a kiss on the top of her head before giving her hand to Luke, who took it like it was a life-line.

The ceremony was short and traditional, but it was perfect. Soon the happy couple was declared legal and strolling back down the aisle arm in arm with enormous grins on their faces. It was then time for Rory to make her way back down the aisle. It was the first time she allowed herself to look at Jess, when they locked arms and began walking. He looked amazing in a tux. She was extremely self-conscious of how her make-up must look with all the tears streaking down her face, but from the way Jess looked at her she felt like the most beautiful girl in the world. When they completed their mission, Jess turned toward her and kissed her.

"I love you, Rory. Now go see your mom" he instructed with a grin.

"I love you, too. And thanks" she replied while running from his arms and leaping into her mother's awaiting embrace.

"Mom! You did it!" she exclaimed with a laugh.

"Yes, we did kiddo! And I didn't even trip" Lorelai laughed back.

"Congratulations, Luke" Rory said, releasing her mother and giving her new step-father a hug.

"Thanks, Rory. You look beautiful. I think Jess nearly fainted when he first saw you. I'm really glad you're both here."

With this comment, Rory scanned the crowd to see where Jess had run off to. She saw him standing against the gazebo in the town square, watching the commotion from a safe distance away. She made her way to him and greeted him again with a kiss. Several members of the town turned to stare at the young couple, but Rory didn't care. She wanted to spend a little time alone with Jess before they were escorted away to get pictures taken. She thought back to how angry she had been the first time her mother got married and she hadn't been able to be there. She was, in that moment, very glad her parents had gotten divorced. She had always wanted to see her mother get married, and somehow it was easier to picture her mother standing next to Luke in a white dress than her father. Seeing it in person cemented the imagined images. She had known from the first time Lorelai and Luke dated that they fit together perfectly. Just like part of her had always known that she fit perfectly with Jess. All too soon, the whisking away began and they were posed like dolls for an hour long photo-shoot. Emily had insisted on hiring a professional photographer and Lorelai had given in surprisingly easily. Of course, everyone wanted a documentation of this day. It was the culmination of so much and deserved to be preserved in photo-form, as her mother put it. After the litany of pictures, Jess and Rory headed to the reception together, taking the very scenic route to give themselves yet some more alone time. It seemed they couldn't get enough of each other.

A/N: Hope you liked my attempt at the wedding scene. I'm a little wedding-ed out right now, so sorry if it seemed a bit rushed. Two friends and my big sister in one year. I feel like Katherine Heigl, only it's 3 dresses and so far, they aren't hideous, so I guess I have some good friends. Anywho let me know what you think and I'll get started on the reception chapter.


	10. Beds Only Please

A/N: Okay, so this is not my original idea for this chapter, but I didn't want to do something that was played out.

Disclaimer: You want the truth? You can't handle the truth! (Well, I suppose you can since you already know the truth that I don't own anything, I've told you several times by now.)

Ch. 10- Beds Only Please

The reception was typical Stars Hollow craziness. There was a champagne fountain and Miss Patty had made a particularly strong batch of punch for the occasion. By the time the wedding party arrived, half the guests were more than a little tipsy. Lorelai had decided that she was going to partake in all the unhealthy pleasures in life while she could, as she and Luke had decided to start trying to conceive once they returned from their honeymoon. Luke had already demanded no alcohol and only limited amounts of coffee (decaf at that) were allowed to be consumed until she safely brought their child into the world. Lorelai had reluctantly agreed, not wanting to chance something going wrong with the pregnancy. She wasn't 16 anymore, after all. Rory was proud of her mother's decision and extra proud of Luke for suddenly becoming so persuasive.

After being announced to the reception crowd, Jess slinked away to a corner table so as not to be ambushed by townsfolk. Rory was prepared to mingle and Jess was happy to let her go it alone and have some fun. Rory danced with her mother and her grandfather and confirmed suspicions about her relationship with Jess to several key people that would spread the word around faster than should be humanly possible. During a time in which her mother was surrounded by well-wishers, Rory noticed Lane was pulling a Jess and was also hanging back from the party, so she went over to see what was the matter with her best friend.

"Hey Lane. Not really in the party mood?" Rory asked.

"Never have sex anywhere but a bed" she said bluntly, shocking Rory into silence for a moment before she could recover.

"Okay, where did that come from?" she managed to utter.

"You told me to try it in a bed and I did. You were right, it's much better" Lane began, but then paused for a little too long.

"Yeah, you've told me this. What happened outside of the bedroom?"

"Zach decided that the shower might be an exciting change of pace. It wasn't. It was worse than the sand crabs" Lane lamented.

"Oh, Lane. I'm so sorry. You should know by now that Zach's notions of romantic endeavors are not always the most successful" Rory said, trying to make her friend feel better.

"That's not even the worst part" Lane groaned.

"There's more?" asked a bewildered Rory.

" I'm pregnant again. I can't believe it. The twins are enough of a handful and I don't think I can do it again. I should have known better than to leave the bed. The bed was working for us and I never got pregnant when we did it in the bed. I hate the shower" Lane ranted.

"It's an evil shower," Rory agreed, "But hey, you've done really well with the twins and if there's only one this time it will be a breeze compared to that!"

"Yeah… you wanna tell Zach for me?"

"You haven't told him yet? When did you find out? He's going to notice eventually, you know."

"I suppose so. He's awfully oblivious though. Remember how he was at Christmas? I'm only five weeks" she replied with a sigh.

"Five weeks. We can handle this. But you have to tell Zach soon, Lane. I think he'll be okay with it. He's great with Steve and Kwan" Rory pointed out.

"I'll tell him. I think I was waiting to tell you first. And I know he'll be okay with it. That's part of the problem. He's going to be thrilled. I want to be thrilled first before I tell him so we can be happy together."

"You are happy, you're just in shock. Now go tell your husband!" Rory commanded.

"Okay. I'll let you know how it goes" Lane promised as she hugged Rory and wandered in the direction of her husband.

Rory took a deep breath and returned to the center of the reception. She was still in shock that her best friend was going to be a mother, again. And soon she was going to be a big sister again if all went according to plan. Everyone in her life was moving ahead so fast and she was missing it. It made her kind of sad, but she knew that the job was temporary and soon she would be living her own stable life with Jess. That thought cheered her up. She still wanted to be a reporter and possibly go over seas, but she could also finally see herself settling down. It hadn't been that long since she turned down Logan's proposal, but she was considering having a family life already with Jess. It further ingrained in her that she was not meant to be with anyone but him. She didn't feel like she would have to give up anything to be with him. She knew that he would support her no matter what. She remembered the fateful conversation in the car just before the famous accident, when he told her he'd help her practice her reporting skills by running at her screaming in a foreign language. She looked toward where he had been sitting and was disappointed when she realized that he was no longer there. She scanned the crowd and didn't see him. She was so busy searching that she practically jumped out of her skin when she felt an arm drape around her shoulders and a pair of familiar lips brush against her neck.

"Can I have this dance?" Jess whispered seductively in her ear.

"You want to dance? How much have you had to drink?" she teased, turning to face him and plant a soft kiss on his lips.

"That punch is really addictive and apparently makes sane men want to do crazy things to be near their girlfriends" he replied with his trademark smirk appearing.

"I'll have to get that punch recipe then" she said slyly before letting him lead her to the dance floor.

"So, I saw you talking to Lane earlier. She looked upset, is everything okay?" he asked as they danced, actually sounding sincere.

"She'll be fine. We're never having shower sex again, by the way."

"Uh, I guess I would have needed to be there to understand that one, but I'll take your word for it" Jess replied, completely confused at the seemingly random comment.

"Well, maybe not never," she amended, "but not anytime in the near future at least."

"Okay," he replied slowly, "I still don't get it, but you'll tell me one of these days. You can never keep up the mysterious woman persona for long" he said, teasing her again.

"Just dance, Mariano, and know that I love you" she replied, resting her head on his shoulder and enjoying the nice surprise of an impromptu dance.

Lorelai watched as Jess snuck up behind her daughter with a bemused look on her face. Their conversation seemed to take place more with their eyes than with their words, or so it seemed to Lorelai. She was glad that the young couple had finally found a way to make things work, even though Jess had not always been high on her list of likeable people. He still had that devil may care attitude toward some things, but he radiated love when he looked at Rory. A person would have to be blind not to see it. She turned away from her daughter and her boyfriend as they began dancing, which shocked her. She made a mental note to ask Rory how she convinced Jess to dance and when he had actually learned to dance, for that matter. She grabbed her husband (her husband!) who allowed her to lead him to the dance floor to join in the fun. Lorelai still got a thrill from dancing with Luke. She supposed there must be something in the Danes genes that made the men natural dancers. She was pretty sure that neither Luke or Jess had ever taken a dance class, yet both could waltz. There was nothing better than a man who could dance.

As the party finally started winding down, the newlyweds began making the rounds to say goodbye before departing. They were going to stay at the Crapshack tonight and head out for their honeymoon the next morning. Rory had told her mother that she was going to stay with Jess at the diner apartment to give them their privacy, but Lorelai knew that was only half the reason. Not only would Rory have to say goodbye to her mother the next day, but she would have to say goodbye to Jess as well. It was going to be emotional for everyone. Lorelai and Luke decided to walk home, arm in arm, to spend their first night as husband and wife together. She kissed her daughter goodbye and told Jess to be a gentleman, which made everyone laugh. Rory told her mother and new step-father to have fun, which earned her a "Dirty" from both Lorelai and Jess, causing another round of laughter and an embarrassed Luke to turn twelve different shades of red. Rory watched her mother depart for a minute before taking her boyfriend by the hand and leading him to their sleeping quarters for the night. Rory insisted on staying in the bed, but still wouldn't explain to Jess. He took this as an invitation to try his best to break her reserve to tell him the big secret. He even refused to get in the bed at one point, which is how they ended up on the couch an hour later, tangled together under a thin blanket, with random mumbled comments from Rory that she hoped Lane's predicament was a fluke. Jess decided that the secret didn't matter anymore, and he carried Rory to bed for another round before they both fell asleep completely content. At that point Rory didn't even care if there were drastic consequences for their actions, she was in love and at peace.

A/N: Not sure where I'm going to take this story from here, but I don't think it's finished yet. And suspense be damned, I'm not planning to make Rory pregnant yet. I just thought it would be funny for her to ignore Lane's dire warning a few hours after it was given. I like the total reckless abandon that comes with being in love. Review if you want, it'll be appreciated!


	11. On the Road Again

A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. It really means a lot. I'm jumping right back into some fluffy lit. to show my appreciation.

Disclaimer: I wish.

Ch. 11- On the Road Again

Jess returned to Philly only to find a very excited group of co-workers waiting to surprise him. At first he had been shocked by what they had to say and didn't even argue when they insisted on taking him out to celebrate. He had to rush home in order to call Rory at the appointed time. It was slightly upsetting that they had to schedule their phone conversations, but Rory's schedule was so crazy reporting for all of the primaries. Typically one candidate was already chosen as the front-runner by this point in the campaign, but the democrats this year were torn, making Rory's job incredibly busy. Once he did get her on the phone, he had a lot to report.

"Jess. Hey, did you make it home safe? How's Truncheon?" Rory asked, knowing already who it was without even checking the caller id.

"Apparently a lot happened while I was away. Somehow a critic managed to get a hold of my book and gave it a raving review. They've called for a re-print. Several of the major chain bookstores want copies in their inventory" Jess informed her stoically.

"Jess, that's amazing!" Rory practically screamed into the phone.

"Yeah, but what I want to know is how in the world someone important actually heard of my novel" he said with a hint of accusation in his voice.

"You're acting like this is a bad thing. You're book is going to be re-printed. You're actually going to make money from your writing. Most writers would kill for this!"

"I know that. And it is a good thing. But I'm doing fine without anyone else's help" he replied pointedly.

"Wait a minute. You think I did this? Jess, I don't even know the guy who wrote that review. I think my boss does and it probably was him that tipped the reviewer off on your book, but I didn't tell him to. I didn't even tell him I knew you. That praise was all deserved and not biased at all!" Rory said, exasperated at Jess' attitude.

"So you did show it to somebody, then" Jess responded with vindication.

"I didn't really show it to him. I was just reading it again during some down time when I first started the job and he asked me what was so great about this book that I couldn't put it down. He asked me to borrow it, so I lent him my clean copy. I didn't even know if he liked it or not. He just gave it back a few days later and thanked me for letting him borrow it" she defended herself.

"Clean copy?" Jess asked, amused by her defensive ramble. He couldn't stay upset with her.

"Umm… yeah. I decided to buy a new copy because I wrote in the margins of the one you gave me. I figured you would appreciate that" she said, glad for once that he couldn't see her, as her face was slowly turning bright red at the admission.

"I can't believe you desecrated my book like that" he teased..

"Payback for what you did to my copy of Howl" she teased back, the momentary happiness from a moment before being replaced by longing to see his face again.

"So when did you find the time to buy this 'clean copy' of my book? You've been on the road for ten months now."

"Oh. I bought it before I left for the campaign" she admitted quickly.

"Huh" was all he could manage as a reply.

"This sucks" Rory pouted.

"What?" Jess asked confused.

"I miss you already and I just saw you this morning. I don't think I can do this anymore."

"Can't do what anymore?" Jess asked, worried this time.

"This stupid job. I miss everybody and all I want to do is see you and I don't want to sleep in crappy cramped hotel rooms anymore!" she said, melting down in true Rory fashion.

"Rory," Jess sighed feeling relieved, but agreeing with her sentiments, "you love your job. You're just emotional after a long weekend. Your mom just got married and you found out Lane is pregnant again and you're going to potentially miss most of it. I get it, but you can't break down on me. If you get depressed, then I'll get depressed and everything will be much harder. At the latest, this will all be over in November and we can be together again. We can make it until then. I love you."

"I love you, too. And you're right. I'm being silly. I don't know what's wrong with me. I just miss you, that's all."

"And I miss you. But we'll see each other soon enough" he assured her.

"What do you have planned?" Rory questioned, her mood lifting noticeably.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"What are you planning?" she demanded again.

"You still owe me an egg roll, you know" he answered, recalling a bribe made so many years ago.

A few weeks later, Rory was feeling much better because she finally realized what had been making her such a basket case. She was once again enjoying her busy schedule and was excited that Jess' book was about to be reprinted and distributed to several major bookstores. Jess, on the other hand, was slightly freaked out that there was sudden interest in his book. Chris had told him that he needed to write a dedication for it, because apparently all real books have dedications, and he was having trouble actually writing what he wanted to say down on paper. He decided that he wasn't going to tell Rory about the dedication because he felt less nervous that way. That meant it was his turn to act a little weird.

"So what have you been doing all day?" asked Rory brightly.

"Not much. Reading, writing, publishing" he responded blandly.

"What's wrong? You sound a bit down. Are you nervous about the reprint? You shouldn't be. Your book is awesome and people are going to love it!"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine. I just miss you, that's all. But you seem to be in a good mood. Did you finally stop missing me so much you can't think of anything else?" he teased, trying not to sound like he was hiding something.

"Oh, I still miss you, trust me. But I'm not panicking anymore, so that's good."

"So what happened to make you so zen?" Jess asked, curious to hear the answer.

"I just realized what had really been upsetting me, but it's nothing. It was so stupid of me."

"It wasn't nothing. Tell me what was really wrong."

"Well, it was really silly. I think I was afraid after talking to Lane and finding out that she's having another baby and then completely ignoring her warning that very night that I might be, too. But I didn't even realize that I was worried about it until today when I realized that there was no way I was pregnant and I felt so relieved and I don't know, it just clicked. I don't know why I didn't think of it before" she began rambling.

"Wow. So you thought you were pregnant? And you didn't tell me?" Jess asked, shocked by the revelation.

"Well, that's the thing. I didn't think I was pregnant. Not consciously anyway. I was just freaked out and couldn't figure out why. I would have told you if I thought that. Trust me, you would have been the first to know" Rory said soothingly, realizing he was upset at the thought.

"Huh. So you've been that upset at the thought of having a baby with me? Is it that horrible to think about?" he asked, only partly teasing.

"You want to have a baby?" Rory asked incredulously.

"Well not right now, but someday maybe. Do you not want kids? Or just not my kids?"

"Someday, but certainly not now. Can you imagine me trying to squeeze a fat pregnant belly onto this tiny little bus everyday? And as for who I want to have kids with, there's no one else but you I would even consider it with" she ended completely serious.

"Well now that we've got that cleared up… we can both stop acting like five year olds. So I guess I should mention that Chris is demanding I write a dedication for the reprint of my book." Jess said tentatively, wondering if changing his mind was a good idea.

"Really? And who are you dedicating it to?" Rory asked innocently.

"Actually, I'm writing two. One to Luke and the other to the future mother of my children" he said with a smirk.

"I'm going to kill Lane for putting me through this. Now you have yet another thing to hold over my head forever. I shouldn't have even told you" she said, rolling her eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me" Jess said indignantly.

"You can't even see me! How do you know if I rolled my eyes or not? Accusing me for no reason, you ought to be ashamed!"

"Ha! You forget that I know you and I can hear it in your voice. Besides, you always get defensive when you know I'm right."

"Yeah, well, I know where you sleep, mister" Rory threatened with a laugh.

"Do your worst" Jess replied seductively.

"Just you wait until I see you again. You're going to get it!"

"Don't tease me, it's just mean."

"And just when do I get to see you again?"

"Oh, now you wanna play nice; when you want information. Well that's for me to know and you to find out."

"You're killing me here, Mariano."

"Yeah, and you love me for it."

"I really do."


	12. Shout to the World

A/N: I know what you're thinking. Two chapters in one day?!? How is this possible? Well, this thought just popped into my head, I had to run with it. It's short, but I like it.

Disclaimer: Nope.

Ch. 12- Shout to the World

Logan's new girlfriend, Candi, had just gotten home with a surprise gift for him, wrapped in shiny green paper. He had chosen someone completely opposite from his last girlfriend on purpose. She was blonde and kind of ditsy. He couldn't talk to her about serious things, but she was fun to have around and was good in bed. His family loved her. They all thought she'd make a lovely addition to the Huntzberger dynasty. She was thoughtful sometimes, he had to admit as he opened her present. She was grinning like crazy when he tore the paper off. It was obviously a book, which she proudly exclaimed that she knew he hadn't read because the bookstore had told her it was brand new. She never had been able to memorize all the books he owned the way Rory had. He pushed her name from his head and glanced at the cover of the book.

Despite Candi's insistence that the book was new, there was something very familiar about it. He smiled at her and gave her a long kiss before opening the cover of the short novel. The first page held two dedications below the title, which also seemed somehow familiar. He read the first dedication which was to someone named Luke, thanking him for everything, whatever that meant. His first thought was that the author must be gay. That was until he read the second dedication. It read: "To Rory, the only person who never gave up on me and has given me a chance time and time again and without whom, this would never have been written. All my love." Logan felt the room spin as he closed the book and read the author's name again. He threw the book across the room and shouted a particularly nasty word before noticing the hurt look on his girlfriend's face. He apologized to her and explained that he knew the author and that they did not get along, but that he appreciated her gift anyway. Then he promised to take her shopping and to dinner and she cheered up considerably. At least she was easy to please; not like some people he knew. He gave the now crumpled book on the floor a last, disdainful look before locking arms with Candi and heading out the door.

A/N: Logan's finally out of the way for good! Just thought this would be a good way to get that dedication thing taken care of without it being Rory who's reading it. Now that he told her about it, he'll show her what it says himself.


	13. A Lost Bet

A/N: I split chapter 12 into two paragraphs for Vera Cobb; hopefully it's easier to read now. As always, thanks for the reviews.

Disclaimer: Seriously, if I owned anything related to Gilmore Girls, I wouldn't be so broke.

Ch. 13- A Lost Bet

Despite pleading from Rory, Jess would not tell her when his novel was going to be re-printed and she was too busy with work to dig around and find out herself. About two weeks after finding out about the dedication, as she was settling into yet another motel room, her phone rang. Her eyes lit up when she saw Jess' name on the caller id. It was too early for their scheduled nightly call, but she was glad for the psychic powers they had seemed to adopt, always knowing when the other would be free to talk outside of the normal range. The only other person that had ever been able to do that was her mother. She made a mental note to call her mother after talking to Jess as she answered the phone.

"Hey!" she said brightly.

"It's out" was the only reply.

"What's out?" she asked before realizing she already knew the answer, "Oh, your book? Of course it's your book, I'm dumb, aren't I? I'm going to get it right now and you can't stop me!"

"Wanna bet?" Jess asked provocatively.

"Well, considering that I'm going to win, yes I would like to bet" she replied in a playful tone.

"What are the terms for this bet?"

"I don't know, I'll figure out what I want after I win."

"Huh. Okay, sounds fair, I'll do the same."

"You are so not winning this. I have my shoes on and I'm walking out the door now" she said as she opened the door and immediately dropped her phone to the ground.

"No fair!" she shouted as she jumped toward her boyfriend, kissed him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, giggling.

"I told you I'd win" he smirked.

"You haven't won anything yet! I'm going to that store right now and there's nothing you can do about it" she stated stubbornly, reaching down to pick up her phone and inspect it for damages, pretending he had no effect on her.

"I think you'll change your mind once you hear the terms of my winning the bet" he said slyly before whispering scandalously in her ear.

"Did you at least bring me a copy?" she asked breathlessly, knowing she was beat.

Jess produced a brand new copy of his novel from his bag before leading Rory back into her room and hanging the Do Not Disturb sign on the door as he closed it. Several hours later, a slightly disheveled Rory came running back out of the room and down the stairs to meet with her co-workers. A few of them eyed her askance as she slowed to a walk to approach them, but thankfully she was not the last one to arrive. Cliff, one of the photographers, was almost always at least ten minutes late. As her boss took a final head count, one of the other female reporters she had become friendly with smiled in her direction and gave her a knowing wink. She blushed and stifled a laugh. Amanda had a tendency to flirt with all the attractive male reporters that were not co-workers, she had a strict no dating co-workers rule, and had actually made several late appearances herself throughout their time on the campaign trail. There was an odd number of girl reporters, so they each had turns with a single room. Somehow, Rory had been lucky that each time Jess made a surprise visit, it had been her turn. As they boarded the bus to head to their work site, Rory made sure to sit with Amanda.

"So, boyfriend in town again?" Amanda asked with a smile.

"Yeah. His novel was re-released and he brought a copy to show me the dedication."

"You are so lucky to have such a good boyfriend. And a writer at that. I've heard that artistic men are good in bed" she said with a slight air of curiosity.

"Oh and where did you hear that? You read Cosmo too much for someone who likes to report the truth" Rory replied, rolling her eyes.

"Well, just tell me this. What time did the boyfriend get here today?"

"About a half an hour after we did" she admitted reluctantly.

"Ha! You can't tell me you spent hours just reading one little dedication. And I know you weren't talking either. You talk enough every night when he's not here, there's nothing left to talk about now! You were spending some nice quality horizontal time together."

"So did you have fun with that Kent guy the other night?" Rory asked abruptly, trying to change the subject.

"Actually, we did have some fun. He was way hotter than my ex. And foreign, too. You know how I like those British boys."

"I hate to break it to you, but I'm pretty sure he was from Australia" Rory laughed, wondering how she had become friends with this girl.

"Well, whatever, that's even hotter. He can feed me some Vegemite any day" she replied, laughing as well.

"Dirty!" Rory exclaimed, suddenly remembering that she hadn't called her mother yet like she told herself to.

"What's wrong? You just went from laughing to homesick in two milliseconds" Amanda questioned, obviously concerned.

"Oh, nothing. I just forgot that I was going to call my mom earlier. Jess distracted me" she added quietly, blushing again.

"Call her on break. You certainly won't remember tonight when you get back to your room" she noted wisely.

"Good call. I'll do that" Rory smiled gratefully at her co-worker as the bus slowed to a stop, remembering now why they had become friends.

Rory did call Lorelai during the intermission of the debate and filled her in on Jess' visit so far, well the not-so-dirty parts anyway. Lorelai told her that Lane had just shown her the new sonogram pictures showing that she was thankfully only having one baby this time. Lane had promised to send pictures of the twins and sonograms of the new baby to Jess' apartment, since he got to see her most frequently. Rory made a new mental note to have him check his mail as soon as he got back to Philly. The fifteen minute call was nowhere near long enough, and she felt extremely homesick the rest of the night. The only thing that kept her from falling apart was knowing that Jess was waiting for her back at the motel. Of course, knowing this made it very hard to concentrate on her work and she wasn't sure how good her article was going to be on this particular event. She took a deep breath and focused once more on the candidates speaking in front of her. There would be time for Jess tonight. She had already spotted a Chinese restaurant within walking distance of her motel. She was going to get him that egg roll he kept harping on about and he was going to eat every last bite of it. Then they could "talk" some more before having to say goodbye in the morning.

A/N: Sorry it's so short. I'll try to update again soon to make up for it, but no promises.


	14. Feels Like Home

A/N: Skipping ahead a bit, because it's my story and I'll skip if I want to! Oh, and be forewarned, there's a bit of mild language in this one. Not that I think anyone will mind, but just in case…

Disclaimer: No pertenece a mi.

Ch. 14- Feels Like Home

November 5th was dragging on for Jess. He had stayed up all night waiting to hear from Rory once she got back to her hotel in Chicago after the victory speech and didn't see the point in trying to sleep for the 2 hours he had left after hanging up with her until he had to open Truncheon. Not that he could have slept through the people celebrating in the streets until sunrise. He knew Rory hadn't slept at all either, because she had to turn in her last article by 6am. Of course, once she turned in her article she was free to sleep all she wanted. He, however, had to work all day and was dead tired. There was one good thing, though. He would get to see Rory again in a few days. She had obviously promised her mom she would come home right away and Jess couldn't leave Philly until the weekend. He was going to surprise her by showing up late Friday night at the Crapshack and tapping on her bedroom window, the way he used to when they were teenagers. His lie that he wouldn't be able to make it until some time on Saturday made him smirk when he thought about her reaction. He couldn't actually see her face when he told her, but he knew it fell for approximately three seconds before recovering and being replaced by her "brave face" as he liked to call it. His pride over his own deviousness made him slightly more approachable throughout the day as he mentally began the countdown to Friday night, but only slightly. Several customers still had to be intercepted by Matthew before Jess could completely lose it and scream at them for their ignorance.

Contrary to Jess' belief, Rory was not sleeping that same fateful day. She had worked furiously to get her article in on time and as much as she wanted to be sleeping when it was done, she wasn't. She was packing. Her time on the road had come to and end and it was bittersweet. She was immensely glad to be going home, but this job had been so much fun and she had actually made a few new friends. Now she was jobless (until the inauguration, which she was going to get to go to and submit an article for!) and had to be out of her hotel by noon. She was also meeting Amanda for coffee before their flights left; it was going to be a very emotional day. She called her mom to let her know the final plan for the day and stuffed the last of her stuff into her bag and headed out into the busy streets of Chicago to meet her friend.

Jess was closing up Truncheon when he heard a knock at the front door. Exhausted, he ignored the annoying sound and continued picking up stray books to return them to the shelves. The knock became louder and more insistent. He took a deep breath and once again ignored it. Apparently whoever was outside was illiterate or didn't know what the word closed meant. At the third round of knocking he started getting angry.

"We're closed!" he yelled, not bothering to look outside, figuring if the lunatic outside caught him looking it would only encourage him.

The knocking stopped and he breathed a sigh of relief. That was, until he heard the office phone ringing. He made a growling noise unintentionally. What was it with people tonight? He supposed people were still in celebration mode from last night, but all he wanted was to fall into bed and sleep for the next two days. He picked up the phone and slammed it back down without bothering to listen to whoever it was on the other end. As he left the office he heard the godforsaken knocking again. He marched angrily toward the door, determined to curse the asshole out. When he opened the door, all intelligent speech flew right out of his head.

"You cut your hair" was all he could spit out.

"Oh, umm, yeah. Amanda saw a picture of me when I had my hair short before and she really liked it and convinced me to cut it again. We found this cute little place and… oh no, you hate it, don't you?" she asked nervously.

"No, it just surprised me, that's all. You surprised me. I thought you were some crazed lunatic. I almost called the cops on you" he said, finally finding his voice.

"Oh, well, it's good to see you, too" she joked as she moved closer to him.

Jess noticed Rory inching closer to him and he pulled her into the bookstore and closed the door behind them. She smiled shyly at him and self consciously ran her fingers through her considerably shorter hair. He kissed the top of her head reassuringly and pulled her into a tight embrace. It was a flattering haircut, not exactly the same as last time he saw it short, but a little more funky and textured. It was actually quite sexy. She must have felt his body tense at the thought, because she pulled away just enough so she could see his face and the gleam in his eyes before kissing him. He had questions for her, mainly what she was doing here, but that could wait until later. Right now, they had better things to do with their mouths than talk. They ambled toward the bookshelves while still entwined with each other. It was just like when they were teenagers, only there was no danger of being run over by a car in here, just of possibly running into one of the shelves and being buried under a mountain of books. The danger made it that much more enjoyable. When they reached the couch hidden behind the bookshelves, they happily collapsed upon it. Jess felt his exhaustion melting away just by being in close proximity to Rory. Once she was finished with him; however, the feeling returned ten-fold and he fell asleep on the couch cuddled up to the woman he loved.

The chime of a bell brought Jess out of his delightful dream. Groaning at being ripped away from the dream and realizing just how cramped his muscles felt, he opened his eyes slowly. It took him a second to remember where he was and why he could barely move his neck without yelping in pain. When he did remember, he smiled and felt as though all the pain in the world was worth it. He looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms, ignoring the fact that the left one was completely asleep by now, and sighed contentedly. A confused voice greeted him and startled Rory awake as well.

"Jess? You still here, man?" Chris called tentatively.

"Yeah, I'm here," he called before turning to Rory and adding in a quieter voice, "I'll be right back, you stay here."

Jess headed toward the office to explain things to his friend and co-worker. Rory laid back on the couch, reveling in the fact that her plan had worked so well. In truth, she had gotten a little worried when he hung the phone up on her the night before, she had thought he was never going to answer the door and she'd be stuck outside all night. She wondered where he had left his cell phone that he couldn't hear it when she tried calling after he hollered that they were closed. She realized that he must have been just as tired as she had been before reaching his doorstep. She had managed to sleep a little on the plane, but then the little kid behind her had gotten bored and decided kicking the back of her chair was his new favorite past time. It had been a long flight, not to mention it had been delayed, resulting in her having to wait for two hours in the airport with nothing to do but buy Cinnabons and massive amounts of coffee. She imagined his day hadn't gone much smoother by the way he passed out instantly after she kissed him goodnight. He returned a few minutes later and gestured for her to follow him. She obliged and found herself following him out the front door and to his car.

"I got the day off" he smirked as they headed down the road.

"How'd you manage that?" she asked with a grin.

"Well, when you find your friend passed out on the job with an extremely hot girl, it's only fair to assume he had a long night and is in no shape to deal with the public. Besides, I was in such a foul mood yesterday, they were probably going to suggest that I take the day off and sleep anyway. They would have sent me home yesterday, but we were slammed with people who skipped work to celebrate" he explained.

"I was exhausted yesterday, too. A five year old sat behind me on the plane."

"Ugh, no need to say more. Been there, done that. Well, more often on buses than planes, but the concept still applies."

"I have had enough of buses and planes to last me a lifetime! I never thought that I would get sick of traveling, but it does have it's drawbacks" she said.

"You know you loved it. But I'm sure glad it's over."

"I missed you, too, you know. Where are we going by the way?" she asked, realizing that they were not headed in the direction of Jess' apartment.

"I'm taking you to breakfast. There's this great diner in town I think you'll like. It's almost as good as Luke's, but don't tell him I said that."

After breakfast, the couple spent the day together, enjoying each other's company. They were so busy having fun together that Jess completely forgot that he wanted to ask her about her decision to visit him first instead of her mother and her beloved Stars Hollow. They were sitting on his couch eating pizza and watching movies when he finally remembered that he had no idea why she was sitting on his couch with her head resting on his shoulder, munching on a slice of pizza.

"I'm not complaining or anything, but why are you here?" he asked casually.

"I couldn't wait to see you" she replied just as casually.

"Isn't your mom going to be upset?"

"I called her. We're still going up there this weekend. At least, that's what I promised her. You will still be able to come up Saturday, right?"

"Of course. I was actually planning to surprise you Friday night, but you beat me to the punch" he revealed to her.

"Aww… you're such a romantic when you want to be" she teased.

"Don't spread that around, you'll ruin my street cred" he warned.

"I wouldn't dare" she replied, trying to keep a straight face.

"I'm still surprised you came here right away. I thought you wanted to go home first."

"Feels like home to me" she said, snuggling closer to him.

"Huh" was the only word he could utter before he lifted her chin and crashed his lips into hers.

Yep, he thought, this certainly feels like home.

A/N: This turned out longer than I thought it would. Yay me! I'm not sure, but this might be the end. It feels like it could be a good stopping place, but you never know when the muses will send another idea out of the blue. If I can think of something good, I'll write another Stars Hollow chapter. Maybe some review love will help make up my mind… yes, I have no shame, I'm well aware.


	15. Torn

A/N: Okay, so I lied. I couldn't resist one more chapter. I decided that I couldn't leave the story without wrapping up some Stars Hollow goodness. Inspiration strikes when we least expect it I guess.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything I reference in this chapter, just in case you were wondering. (You weren't? Imagine that!)

Ch. 15- Torn

Rory jumped out of the car before Jess could even come to a complete stop. Ignoring the fact that she could be hit by the still moving car, she ran in front of it toward her mother, who was emerging slowly from the house. Jess rolled his eyes at his girlfriend's eagerness and quickly pulled the emergency break to avoid hitting her as she haphazardly made her way to her mother.

"Mom! I missed you so much!" she cried, hugging her mother as best she could, under the circumstances.

"Wow, you've gotten really fat, Lorelai. How many boxes of Twinkies have you eaten since Easter?" Jess remarked in his usual fashion.

"Do not compare your bro-usins to Twinkies. Besides, I prefer Mallomars." Lorelai corrected.

"So how are Leopold and Loeb?" Jess asked with a hint of affection for his unborn "brousins", as Lorelai liked to call them, in his voice.

"Oh, it's Luke and Leia now. Turns out Loeb is really a girl. And this way, Luke can have a namesake just like I have with Rory" Lorelai explained with a grin.

"We are NOT naming our children after Star Wars characters; I don't care how well it fits or how good the movies are!" Luke bellowed from the front door.

"Damn, I forgot how good his hearing is. Ah well, we have three more weeks to figure it out. Lucky for you I didn't pop early. I did consider it, though. Gallivanting off to see your boyfriend before bothering to come see your mother, who could have been having your brother and sister and you would have missed it" she ranted, directing the last part to Rory.

"Mom, stop being overdramatic. Those kids know better than to come before their big sister gets back to town. They already know they would never hear the end of it, and they aren't even born yet. Besides, I'm here now and I'm sure Luke has been taking wonderful care of you while I've been away."

"I do my best" Luke said as he walked past the two and began helping his nephew unload the car and take her luggage inside.

"So you're not allowed to leave me again until after the babies come; you know that, right?" Lorelai half-asked, half-stated to her daughter.

"Yes, I know. But you remember that I'm staying with Jess in the diner apartment when ever he gets to come visit, right? That includes this weekend" Rory said slightly patronizing.

"But you just got here" Lorelai whined.

"Mom, we talked about this, remember?"

"Oh fine. There is something you should know, though. We've kind of already turned your bedroom into a nursery, so you'll have to sleep in the living room" Lorelai mentioned quickly before rushing back inside the house.

Rory rolled her eyes and laughed as she followed everyone else into the living room. To her surprise, Lorelai had actually moved her bed into the living room. The couch was pushed against the wall to make room. When she saw how her old room was decorated, she practically squealed with delight. She had thought she would be upset to see that it had changed, but she actually just felt excited. The fact that she was going to be a big sister was finally setting in. When she inquired about where the rest of her things had gone, Lorelai had just smiled secretively. Her mother had set up the garage to be a sort of study for her with her bookshelf and desk. Luke had made sure the small building was weather-proof. When they showed it to her, she gave them both huge hugs and kisses on the cheek. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stay here forever, because there wouldn't be enough room, but this gesture showed that she would always be part of her mother's home. She had suggested staying in the diner apartment full-time, but her mother had insisted that she still live at home, despite the crowded conditions. Lorelai had missed her daughter terribly and wanted to have her home as much as possible before she moved on and started a life of her own somewhere new.

It was a sobering thought for both mother and daughter alike that Rory would be moving somewhere other than her mother's house permanently. Lorelai had waited for several months to begin setting up the room for the twins. She was sad to think that the room wouldn't be Rory's anymore. Even when she had gone to college and even when the big fight had happened and she lived at Emily and Richard's, Rory's room had stayed the same. It had briefly been turned into a room for Gigi when she had married Christopher, but that hadn't lasted very long and Rory had been in college still. Pretty soon, Rory would have her own home and the Crapshack would be somewhere she was just visiting. The thought was not lost on Rory. She was slightly terrified at the thought that she didn't know what was next. After dinner, while Jess went to take his little sister to get ice cream (just the two of them, Doula had insisted), Rory decided to visit Lane. They took a stroll around town and wound up at the gazebo.

"I don't know what comes next" Rory admitted anxiously.

"What kind of job offers do you have?" Lane began pragmatically.

"None. I haven't sent off any resumes or applications because I don't know where to send them. I want to stay here for awhile and spend time with you and your three little ones, my mom, Luke, and soon my new little brother and sister. But I also want to stay with Jess. He's been great, traveling all across the country randomly to see me, but I can't ask him to keep doing it. I know if I stay here he's going to insist on coming to see me every weekend. I can't let him drive three and a half hours every few days just to see me! And at least until the babies are born, I can't visit him in Philly. I promised my mom I'd be here the whole time" Rory sighed, taking a break from her rant.

"Well, what about after the babies are born? Are you going to move to Philly? It sounds like you and Jess are going pretty strong to me."

"I don't know. I actually like Philly and I love being with Jess and I can't ask him to leave Truncheon, but it's so far away. And it's scary to base a major life decision on a guy. What if I get a job somewhere else? Do I turn it down just to be with him?"

"Well, have you talked to him about any of this?"

"No," Rory replied slowly, "I remember going through this when I was graduating from Yale, when I was still with Logan. His solution was proposing to me. It made me feel trapped, like if I married him I was closing off all these other doors that could, and did, lead to better things. What if we start talking about the future and I start to feel trapped again? I don't want to lose Jess, but I don't want to lose myself either."

"Well, first off, I highly doubt Jess is going to propose. At least not any time soon. And second, what if Jess is THE door? You'll never know unless you talk to him about it. If you start to feel trapped again, let him know. I think that Jess, of all people, knows what it's like to feel trapped. His entire teenage life was one big steel cage. I think he'll understand" Lane said.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Lane. I swear, being a wife and mother has made you wise beyond your years."

"I know, right? It's pretty intense sometimes."

After talking with Lane, Rory headed back to the diner apartment to discuss her feelings with Jess. He wasn't home yet, so she sat down at the table and began making several pro/con lists to sort out some of her thought processes. When Jess opened the door and saw Rory asleep at the table with her head resting on scattered sheets of paper, he grinned. It was typical Rory to be working at all times. He gently picked her up from her spot and she barely stirred, so he carried her to the bed and tucked the sheets around her. He was gathering up the papers on the table when one of them caught his eye. He began scanning them and had to hold back a laugh. They appeared to be pro/con lists on everything from where she wanted to live, to if they should get married sooner rather than later, and even to how many kids they should have. He could see the progression of the list topics and realized that it started with whether she should move to Philly to be with him. From that list alone he couldn't tell what she had decided, but after seeing what the rest of the lists were about, he was pretty sure he knew. He sighed as he lowered himself onto the couch to think.

Rory woke up around midnight confused. She was fully dressed and curled in a ball on the bed in the diner apartment, but Jess was not in bed with her. Nor did she remember ever going to bed. The last thing she remembered was making lists waiting for Jess to get home. She sat up and looked around the apartment, trying to see in the dark. She stood up quietly and noticed that the table was void of papers. She turned to the couch and saw a figure sleeping at an awkward angle. He had several sheets of paper in his lap. She groaned slightly. She had meant to hide those before he returned. Her cheeks flushed as she remembered what some of those lists contained. She hesitated slightly before deciding that she would be better off waiting until the morning to deal with this. She turned to go back to bed, but something in her head malfunctioned and she found herself sitting on the couch, gently waking Jess out of his sleep.

"Rory?" he questioned groggily.

"Yeah, it's me. You fell asleep on the couch. I didn't want to leave you here all night" she whispered.

"What time is it?" he asked, looking around, still a little confused from just waking up.

"Just after midnight. Apparently I created some good tranquilizers earlier tonight. They got us both" she joked, reminding him that he still held her lists.

"What? Oh, sorry about that. I wasn't trying to be nosy, but these are really interesting" he said, managing to sound both sincere and snide at the same time.

"It's okay. Writers are curious by nature. Umm… so what did you find so interesting about them?" she asked timidly.

"Well, they're very detailed" he stated, turning on the end-table lamp.

"I like to be thorough" she interjected, cheeks turning pink again.

"Rory, what prompted all these lists?"

"Well, I just started thinking about how I don't know what the next step of my life is and I was talking to Lane about it and she suggested that I talk to you, but you weren't here yet so I kind of started without you" she said hurriedly.

"That Lane's a smart woman. Well, I'm glad to hear that you were planning on including me in some of these decisions" he said suggestively, making Rory's cheeks flush a deeper, almost crimson, shade.

"Of course you get a say. I just don't know where to go from here. I haven't even been able to decide where to send resumes, which is not a good thing when jobless."

"That part's easy. You apply everywhere that sounds remotely interesting. Then you wait until you hear back and decide from there. It's just like with college. You didn't decide until you had all the choices in front of you" he explained rationally.

"Don't compare this to college. I thought I knew what I wanted all along then, but when it came down to it, I chose something the complete opposite of what I thought. Right now I know I want you and I don't want to change my mind" she babbled almost hysterically.

"You already have me, Rory. Nothing can change that. If the time comes to make a decision and you want my help, I'll gladly give it; but you can't make any decision at all until you find out what your options are. And for the record, my life story isn't closed yet. I can make changes, too, if I decide something is worth it" he stated simply.

"You make it sound so easy."

"Well, I'm not saying there won't be bumps in the road, but we've overcome worse than this. We'll find a way to make this work. We don't need to force it, all we can do is try. I'm not going to promise to follow you blindly wherever you go or demand that you follow me and give up your dreams either. It's a give and take process and it's not all or nothing. It is what it is; you, me" he ended with a shrug and a smile.

"I love you" she replied, blinking back tears.

"I love you, too. That will never change, no matter what happens" he said seriously before kissing her.

The next morning, Rory awoke with Jess' arm draped around her waist. She smiled and took his hand in hers. She didn't know what the future would hold, but she didn't feel trapped at all this fine morning. In fact, she felt more free than she had ever felt in her life. Her night had been filled with dreams about all of life's possibilities, and in every single one of them, there was a brown haired, brown eyed man smirking by her side.

A/N: I love the thought of Luke and Lorelai having twins, don't you? It fits nicely with her dream on the show way back when. I always wished that scene were real, instead of just a dream, and now it is in my head.


	16. A Long Time Coming

A/N: Okay, so it's been a long time since I wrote for this story. I thought I was done with it, but I couldn't resist. It's skipping ahead in the timeline, too. I'm saying about two years from the last chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Gilmore Girls, but I do own a house now! Yay me!

Ch. 16 - A Long Time Coming

Rory and Jess were strolling through Stars Hollow when they inevitably ended up at the bridge. They sat on the edge with their feet hanging off the side, for old time's sake.

"I should have waited and proposed here" Jess said absentmindedly.

"What? I loved your proposal" Rory insisted.

She had come home one day with a random book she found at a book fair. She knew he would love it. It was eccentric and unique, with an edge to the writing style. It was just like him. She had presented it to him with an excited grin and he looked over it thoughtfully, like he always did. He gave her a strange look and she instantly worried that he didn't like it, or that he had somehow already read it. He didn't explain his reaction, though. He just got up, went into the bedroom, and returned a few seconds later with one hand behind his back. He knelt down in front of her and presented the box without words. He didn't need words, his eyes said it all. She teared up and just nodded. He took the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger, and told her he loved her. It had been perfect.

"Yeah, but this is where it all began. I always thought I would ask you here, but I got impatient" he admitted.

"That's because you're the impulsive one and I'm the planner. Don't mess with the system" she joked.

"We do work pretty well together, don't we?"

"We sure do."

* * *

Rory's cell phone beeped, indicating that they needed to head back to the inn. They were on a strict schedule this weekend and Lorelai would have a complete melt down if they were late tonight. They had just stepped off the bridge when they heard someone call out behind them.

"You really like my sloppy seconds, don't you?"

Rory felt Jess tense up as he turned to face their verbal assailant. She reluctantly turned as well, her face unwillingly turning red.

"Excuse me?" Jess said warningly.

"You heard me" Dean shot back.

"Still stuck in high school, man? That's just sad" he responded with his trademark sarcasm.

"High school?" Dean questioned with amusement before directing his attention to Rory, "You didn't tell him did you?"

Rory blushed even more and wished she could disappear. She desperately grasped for a way to change the subject.

"I thought you moved away when you got back together with Lindsay. Why are you even here?" she asked with all the venom she could muster.

"Not that it's any of your business, but we brought the baby to see our parents" he answered smugly.

"You procreated? No wonder the world's going to shit" Jess laughed dryly.

"At least my kid's not a son of a whore."

"And you're implying what exactly?" Jess asked, genuinely confused about the target of that insult.

"You're girlfriend's a slut and a home wrecker" he said bluntly.

Jess looked to Rory, eyes blazing.

"Can I please hit him now?"

"Awww, do you need your girlfriend's permission to wipe your ass, too?" Dean asked patronizingly.

"No, I don't need permission from my fiancée," he stressed that word, "to do anything, but I would like her blessing."

Dean's face went pale. He looked like someone had just sucker punched him in the gut. His eyes flickered to Rory's left hand for confirmation of what Jess had said.

"You're marrying _him_?" he asked with disgust.

"Yeah. That's actually why we're in town" Rory answered, finding renewed strength with his signs of weakness.

"The wedding's tomorrow. We would have invited you, but let's face it - you're a complete tool" Jess added spitefully.

"In town? You don't live around here anymore?" Dean asked Rory, still stunned by the wedding revelation.

"_We_ live in Philly" Rory explained slowly.

She was starting to feel sorry for Dean. He was obviously still not over their past. She could tell Jess wasn't through with him yet, though. She tugged gently at his arm to remind him that they really did need to go. He started to turn away from Dean, but stopped midway.

"Just for the record, I do know that you two dated again after high school. I also know that you cheated on your wife. I only meant that you still act the same as you did in high school" he said before finally allowing Rory to lead him away.

* * *

When they got back to the car, Rory turned to Jess before starting the engine.

"I'm sorry I never said anything" she said quietly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for" he assured her.

"So I guess Luke told you about me and Dean?"

"Yeah, on accident. We talked not long after the double date disaster. I asked about you and he went on a famous Luke rant about how he couldn't believe your mom was letting you date him again. He didn't mean to tell me about it, but you know Luke when he gets on a rant" he explained.

"Everyone was mad at me for that one. I _was_ a slutty home wrecker" she mumbled.

"You weren't the one who was married. _He's_ the slimeball in my book. Besides, if anyone in this car is a slut, it's me - not you" he insisted.

"You never slept with someone else's husband" she said miserably.

"No," he laughed, "but I did steal some asshole's girlfriend once. So I'm kind of a home wrecker, too."

"That just sort of happened" Rory protested, realizing he was trying to make her feel better.

"Oh I knew exactly what I was doing" he insisted. "I never claimed to be perfect, and I don't expect you to be, either. You can't beat yourself up over the past. Trust me, no good will come of it."

"I know" she said, still looking down.

Jess pulled her chin up so he could look her in the eyes.

"Rory, I don't give a damn about Dean, or Logan, or Jeremy. I only care about you and the life we're building together. I love you and I can't wait to marry you."

He saw the flurry of emotions flicker across her eyes as he talked. It still amazed him how many emotions she could feel at one time. He felt a small stab of satisfaction when she cringed at Jeremy's name. She didn't know he knew about that one. Lorelai had looser lips than Luke when it came to accidentally revealing secrets about her daughter. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her love for him finally outshine all the other emotions. Of course, then the panic flickered in as well. He had to laugh at that one.

"Well, don't just sit there, drive!" he told her.

"We are so late. Mom's going to kill us" she cried as she started the car and sped off toward the inn.

"She'll live," he reasoned, "besides, it's _our_ rehearsal dinner. They can't start without us."

"We'll never hear the end of it" she groaned. "Oh, and I love you too, by the way."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out" he said with a smirk. "Now pay attention to the road. Somehow it'll still be _my_ fault if you wreck the car."

She smiled and slowed the car down to a reasonable speed. She made a promise to herself to enjoy the last day in this chapter of her life. Tomorrow she'd be a married woman. And she couldn't wait.

A/N: If I get enough reviews, maybe I'll feel compelled to write another wedding chapter(s)... I'm shameless, I know ;)


	17. Almost Man & Wife

A/N: As promised – the rehearsal dinner!

Disclaimer: Go back to a previous chapter, read that disclaimer. It still applies.

Ch. 17 – Almost Man & Wife

Rory pulled up to the front of the inn, only to see her mother standing on the steps with her arms folded across her chest. She threw the car in park and jumped out, leaving Jess to laugh as he took the keys out of the ignition. He sauntered up behind his fiancée just in time to hear Lorelai's tirade.

"You'd better have a good excuse for being late. My mother is blaming this on me. Me!" she exclaimed. "She says if I had only stressed the importance of punctuality to you, this never would have happened. You've been late what, like twice in your whole life? Neither of which were my fault."

"Mom, I'm so sorry. We would have been on time, but we ran into Dean" Rory interrupted.

"Oh," Lorelai said, shooting a nervous glance at Jess. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Jess assured her. "Now can we get this over with please?"

"Oh yeah, hurry inside" Lorelai directed.

She ushered them inside, only to have them stop again before they could be seen by any of their guests.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for," Lorelai announced as she entered the sitting room ahead of the couple, "the stunning bride-to-be and the luckiest man in the world!"

Rory and Jess walked in, holding hands. There was a surprisingly loud round of applause, which made both of their cheeks a little warm. Rory did a little half-curtsy and Jess nodded his head to Luke. Lorelai led them to their seats and addressed the room again.

"Okay, so we're going outside to run through the ceremony a few times and then Sookie has prepared a delicious dinner for everyone in the dining room. I need the bride and the bridesmaids to come with me and the groom and his groomsmen can go with Luke. Everyone else, follow Miss Patty" she instructed.

The groups parted ways, but not before Jess squeezed Rory's hand one last time. Lorelai, as matron of honor, led Rory and her bridesmaids (Lane, Paris, and April) to the inn's front yard. Rory had GiGi and Doula as junior bridesmaids, but they had stayed inside to watch Lily and Evan. The twins were the obvious choice for flower girl and ring bearer, but they would never cooperate with the plan if allowed outside to play beforehand.

"Okay, as soon as the boys have perfected the art of seating the guests, Rory's dad will come get us so we can practice our entrances. If nobody trips, we get to eat sooner, so walk well ladies" Lorelai explained.

"I can't believe this is actually happening" Rory mused, letting the reality settle in.

"_You_ can't believe it? _I_ can't believe it," Lorelai exclaimed. "My baby is getting married! To a former ruffian, nonetheless."

"Ruffian?" Rory questioned with a laugh. "How much have you had to drink tonight, mom?"

"Oh shut up, that's a perfectly acceptable word."

"I think you've been hanging out with grandma too much" Rory teased.

"Bite your tongue" Lorelai retorted.

"I kind of like the word ruffian," Lane chimed in. "I think you should incorporate it into your vows."

"She's kidding, right?" Paris asked Rory before turning to Lane. "That was a joke?"

"Yes, Paris. That was a joke" Lane said, shaking her head.

"Ladies?" came a voice from the porch. "I think it's show time."

The girls headed back inside and Rory locked arms with her father and let him lead her through the inn. They stopped at the back door, where Miss Patty, GiGi, Doula, and the twins were waiting for their arrival.

Lorelai greeted her toddlers with a hug and a kiss for each. She addressed her son first.

"Okay Evan. Here's the plan. When Miss Patty says go, you're going to walk nice and slow right down there and stand next to Daddy, okay?" she said, making clear gestures so he would understand. "And don't drop the pillow."

He nodded and looked up at Miss Patty with anticipation. As soon as she opened the door, Pachelbel's Canon in D started playing out of nowhere. Small speakers had been hidden all across the yard, so the music was audible no matter where you were.

"Ready Evan?" she asked and waited for another nod, "Go!"

He headed straight for Luke, who was standing in the best man position. It was not a slow walk, like his mother had requested, but it wasn't a run, either. She decided to take that as a win.

"Lily, you do the same thing your brother did; only when you get to the end, just go sit by your grandma. Tomorrow you'll get to throw the petals, so tonight you can just pretend they're in the basket" Lorelai explained.

"Okay, Mommy" Lily replied.

"Whenever you're ready, Lily. Remember to smile big" Miss Patty said, making another checkmark on her clipboard as the little girl wandered down the aisle. "Now where are my junior bridesmaids?"

"GiGi and Doula, reporting for business" GiGi saluted, as she and the younger girl made their way to the exit.

"GiGi, make sure you stay with Doula, you need to walk together." Christopher instructed his daughter.

"Duh. I'm not an idiot, dad" she responded, rolling her eyes before heading out the door with Doula in tow.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" Lorelai commented, giving Christopher a sympathetic smile.

"Your turn, April," Miss Patty said. "On the count of three, I want you to glide, not walk, down the aisle and take your place. Pink X, remember that. One, two, three."

April nodded and headed out the door. She "glided" surprisingly well, earning a beam of pride from her father.

"Paris, honey, you're next," Miss Patty said, guiding her to the doorway. "You're the blue X. And don't forget to smile."

Paris nodded and gave her best attempt at a genuine smile.

"And… walk" Miss Patty instructed, giving Paris a small push out the door.

She gathered up Lane next and gave her the same instructions as Paris and April, only she was to stand on the green X. They had marked everyone's standing positions with colored tape for the rehearsal so it would look as close to perfect as possible for the actual wedding.

Once Lane was almost to the end of the aisle, it was Lorelai's turn. She gave her daughter a hug and a kiss on the cheek before beginning her journey to the red X. She was trying her hardest not to cry.

When all four women were in perfect position, Miss Patty turned to Rory and motioned for her to start walking. Rory looked up at her father, who was suddenly gripping her arm tighter.

"Don't start, dad. It's only the rehearsal" she pleaded, knowing that she'd be in tears soon, too.

He relaxed a little and they both took deep breaths. The walk down the aisle was both the fastest and slowest walk of both their lives. It would be even more surreal tomorrow, though. Before he knew it, the reverend was asking Christopher who would give this woman away.

"Her mother, step-father, and I" he recited as evenly as possible.

He kissed Rory on the forehead and handed her over to Jess before taking his seat. Jess was beaming at Rory and shook Christopher's hand before taking Rory's. The reverend went through an abbreviated version of the ceremony, vows, and ring exchange. He pronounced them "almost man and wife", telling Jess he could kiss Rory on the cheek. Everyone chuckled as Jess obeyed the command with his trademark smirk. They practiced the recessional and gathered back in the sitting room.

"Wow. That was amazing," Miss Patty addressed the crowd. "We got it on the first try! I'm not even sure we need a second run through."

"You heard the woman. Quick, head over to the dining room before she changes her mind. I'll go check on the food" Lorelai announced.

Another round of laughter led to a bit of chaos, as the group made their way to the dining room. Jess and Rory helped Luke corrale the twins and get them secured in their booster seats. GiGi and Doula joined Steve, Kwan, Davey, Martha, and Susie at the "kids table". GiGi seemed to be enjoying her role as queen of the kids. Between her and Davey, they had the younger kids behaving better than their parents could usually manage.

"I think I found a new babysitter" Lane whispered to Rory, motioning toward the now well-behaved children.

Everyone fell silent when Lorelai came back into the room to make the grand announcement that dinner was about to be served. Then she disappeared for a second, returning with a protesting Sookie.

"I don't care if you're the chef; you're also a guest. So you'll sit down with the rest of us and enjoy your dinner" Lorelai insisted.

Sookie finally relented and the servers began bringing out the food. The first course consisted of fruit sushi and fancy, homemade mini pizzas. This was followed by gourmet burgers and thick-cut fries made out of five different kinds of potatoes. Finally, for dessert, everyone was served ice cream - in cones. At first, Sookie had protested such a simple dessert, but Rory was insistent. They eventually compromised with six flavors of homemade ice cream and waffle cones dipped in chocolate. There was also a toppings bar for the ice cream cones. Rory laughed at Jess when he passed up the toppings bar. He laughed when she purposely left room in her cone for mini-marshmallows and hot fudge.

"At least put a cherry on top. Or better yet, some of the fresh fruit" Jess teased.

"Umm, there was fruit in the sushi" she defended herself, adding a marachino cherry to her dessert with a smirk.

"You are _so_ my child," Lorelai cooed, as she appeared behind her daughter. "Luke filled waffle cones with fruit and then put one measly scoop of ice cream on top for the twins. Can you believe that? _My_ children eating fruit for dessert? It's a tragedy."

"At least they won't get scurvy" Jess deadpanned.

"No toppings?" Lorelai questioned.

"I like my ice cream pure, unadulterated" Jess explained.

"I can dig that" Lorelai said, nodding her head. She winked at Rory before heading back to the table.

"I can't wait until tomorrow, when we're actually going to be family" Rory sighed contentedly before devouring several marshmallows.

"Uh, we kind of already are" Jess pointed out.

"Eww, gross. Don't remind me. Besides, that's just a technicality. This will be the real thing. You and me. We'll be a family."

"Yes, we will" he reassured her, putting his arm around her shoulders as they started to walk toward the back door of the inn.

"Hey, not so fast!" Lane called to the couple before they could make it out of the dining room.

"What?" Rory asked, turning to face her best friend.

"Sorry, Jess, but she's ours tonight. As soon as that ice cream's gone, we're taking her away. It's wedding night tradition" Lane explained.

The couple sighed and rolled their eyes in unison, but obeyed the implied command not to leave. They wandered back to the table and took their seats. Rory looked down at her almost empty cone and then eyed her almost-husband.

"Eat that slowly" she demanded.

He nodded, took the smallest lick possible, and grinned at her. She smiled back and rested her head against his shoulder. They were content.

* * *

A/N: So, I've been obsessed with fruit sushi ever since I had it at a bridal show in January. I thought it would be appropriate since the girls loved dessert sushi so much. Anywho, stay tuned. Next chapter will be Rory's last single night with the girls!


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